Fire Emblem: Rekka No Ken
by sagewolf
Summary: The story of the Lycian lords' ragtag army on its quest to save Elibe from a second Scouring. A camp with 40 soldiers is no small thing, and everyone has their own perspective of the journey. Tactician-centered, avoiding convention as much as possible.
1. 1: Fateful Meeting

PART I – LYN

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or any characters, places, storylines etc. attached to it. Intelligent Systems and Nintendo do. The only thing I claim is my own craft. _

**Chapter 1:**

**Traveller on the Plains**

Dev trudged through the tall grass of the Sacaen Plains. She was heading vaguely south-west-ish…she hoped. She couldn't tell at this point. However, if she wasn't travelling east or north, she was happy. East led to Bern. North to Ilia. Neither was a place she wanted to return to. Being in Bern brought back memories she would rather have left buried. Ilia was in no way an option.

She'd run out of food a week ago, and her last waterskin had been dry for two and a half days, and she'd been drinking pretty sparingly from it for a few days before it had run out. A river now…was the stuff of dreams. A river, or better–a village. She had a vague idea that Bulgar was somewhere around here. That would be nice. Which was a huge understatement. She had some money–there was 200 gold in her pouch, enough to keep her going for about a month and a half, two if she stretched it. Assuming she ever found a town, that was.

The plains were infuriating. Empty, bigger by far than was required of any decent continent, never mind a bloody plain. She should have gone straight to Lycia, not taken this 'shortcut', even if it had taken her out of Bern. The further she walked, the further she could see, and it was all grass. Grass, grass, grass. Grass to the north, grass to the south, grass to the east, and to the west, yes! it was more–

No. Dev stopped walking to stare at the dark blot on the horizon. Blots in a place like this meant one thing. A village! Or a house, or…or… alright, there was more than one thing a blot like that could be, but all of them meant _people!_ People with food and water! With houses and shops, or work to be done! Even if it was just a mercenary camp, she could pay for food. Maybe even work for them, if they wouldn't accept coin for food. She didn't like the idea, but it was a way to eat. And if she didn't do that, she'd be dead in a week. Quicker if she didn't find water.

Already thinking over a tale to tell and excuses for being lost, thrusting the idea of mercenaries, battles and such unwanted things from her mind, she began to run toward the blot.

………………..

It was no village, nor was it a mercenary camp. It was an informal graveyard; the remnants of a camp set up by the Sacaen nomads. The tents, sturdy gers and yurts, were torn down, burned or trampled into the ground. She looked around, wary but calm; the stench of blood and death had long fled this place. The remains of the village were already rotting away, helped by insects and animals which would have been driven away by the nomads. One pole, a once-sturdy thing which had supported a ger wall, snapped in her hand as she twisted it, and she was not strong. The inside was honeycombed, as if gnawed at by insects.

The bodies which must have littered the ground had been buried in the middle of the camp, and a wooden, not stone, marker informed any who came that the Lorca had fallen here, listing at least a hundred names, maybe two. It looked as if it had once been a plain door. It was beginning to weather, and from the date, it had to have been at least four months ago. The tribe had been attacked or burned last year, and it was now mid-spring.

A grave separate from the rest, although not too far from the rest of the clan, bore a more personal marker; the names on it were Hassar and Madelyn. Dev raised an eyebrow. She had never heard of a Sacaen called Madelyn. The people of Bern, and of Lycia, favored such odd names, just as the Ilians tended to favor names beginning in 'F', 'H' or 'S' or evoking the sound of wind. The Sacaens favored shorter names, or names which evoked some form of nature. What was more…Madelyn… She was sure she'd heard that name somewhere before…

She saw a shadow move to her left and ran to confront it. Someone who could help her? Someone who was injured? She searched half the town, calling out for the caster, before she decided it was nothing.

She shook her head, triggering a headache. She'd been getting those lately, probably due to near-starvation. That was probably the reason she was seeing things, too. Touching her temple with her cold fingertips, she looked over the camp one last time, but couldn't believe anyone living would be in the place. There was a well, but she hesitated with her waterskin, and finally didn't drink from it at all. Who knew how these people had been killed, but the destruction of an entire tribe suggested something pretty pervasive; Sacaen nomads were, generally, very able to take care of themselves. If the well had been poisoned, or even tainted by a corpse (accidentally or otherwise), the contamination could still linger. She'd evaded Death by no more than a pegasus' hair more than once, but that was one of the reasons she didn't like to tempt him. Unfortunately, the presence of a well suggested the absence of a stream or any other natural source of water.

Dev settled down in a yurt that still had its roof, and, wrapping her cloak around her, went to sleep with her staff in her hands. It wasn't dark yet, but any shelter she could take advantage of was a bonus. Nights here were cold, the winds could be fierce, and she did not want to wake up and start going the way she'd come for lack of a landmark to judge by, in case it was cloudy. She was harboring wistful thoughts of rain.

The next day she got up, and started off towards the south without lingering any longer in the ruined camp. She didn't know if she was far enough west to avoid travelling back into Bern, but it would be close to Lycia, and she'd be far more likely to find herself at a house or village than in these interminable grasslands. Touching her temples again–that headache was back–she judged her direction from the sun –no clouds and no rain– and started out.

Around noon she began feeling faint. Her headache intensified, and once she was extremely disturbed to be on one side of a rock and, the next second, some forty feet on the other side of it. She scrubbed at her face with her hands, trying to refresh her senses somehow, and continued for another hour. …Stepping through the grass was becoming a chore. This had been happening lately, but she couldn't be this fatigued this early in the day…it was…what? She looked up at the sun to check. Just after noon…

She tripped on a depression in the earth and fell, catching herself. She looked; it was a rabbit hole. She grimaced and got back up, a little too quickly.

Light-headedness assailed her as she stood up. One of her hands flew to her head, dark spots obscured her vision, and the entire world seemed to sway like the deck of a ship. She began to fall, leaned on her staff and stepped backwards to catch herself, but was unable to balance. Frightened by her sudden weakness, she fell backwards, onto the rabbit hole, tried once to rise. She couldn't find the strength and fainted outright.

…………………….

She was greeted by the sight of a brightly-coloured cloth above her upon waking. Closing her eyes, she heard the sound of wind against stretched cloth, but not the noises of a camp. She was still dressed in her travelling clothes, but her cloak, gloves, staff and bag had been taken from her. Who ever had found her had placed her on a bed, under a light sheet. Something cold and wet–assumedly cloth, although she wasn't ruling out a frog or newt, some people had strange ideas about the healing properties of animals–was on her forehead. Opening her eyes again, she sat up, the action needing far more effort than she was accustomed to, and looked around her.

The cloth fell into her eyes. Reaching up to get it off, she heard a voice.

"Ah, you're awake! I was beginning to give up on you." The voice–youthful and female–came to the right. Most of the light had come from that direction; Dev assumed there was a door there. Moving the cloth off of her face, she looked up at her rescuer.

A girl, roughly the same age as Dev herself, stood in the doorway. She was taller than average, neither slightly nor strongly built, with dark turquoise eyes and dark green hair tied up in a simple ponytail that reached her knees. Her manner of dress, too, was in a simple style, a dark blue shirt under a light blue dress, ankle-length, split up the sides for ease of movement. Despite the simplicity of the style, the dress, her belt, and the jewellery she wore were all intricately embroidered, braided or tooled in designs that chased each other over cloth and leather, leaving a brief impression of great detail, detail that refused to stay in the mind. They were traditional Sacaen designs, easily recognised and much admired by artists in Etruria for their simplicity-through-complexity.

All of these details flashed through Dev's mind in an instant, to be overshadowed in a moment by one thing: _This girl has __**food**__._ If she hadn't been so hungry, she would have cared that the sight of the bread, cheese and dried meat was making her drool. As it was…

"Hungry?" the girl asked, laughter in her voice. Dev could only nod and swallow all the saliva her mouth was producing out of nowhere. The girl gave her the food and watched Dev gulp it down desperately before reluctantly remembering the (foresight-deficient) traveller's edict: 'Never break a fast with a feast,' and proceeded to eat more slowly, taking smaller bites. She wouldn't have been able to eat much more anyway; after the first bout of drool, her body seemed unable to come up with saliva to chew with. Her rescuer held up a jug of water and poured her a cup, handing it to her. Dev drank three such cups down gratefully and sighed, wondering how close she'd cut it this time. She'd fainted out there, but she'd done that before and woken up alright. Still, she needed to buy a map, a good one…or a sense of direction.

"Thank you," she said, looking the girl over again, covertly studying her this time. Her eyes were bright, full of life, and full of resilience too. She wore dark blue leather gloves, worn and nicked from use, probably with a sword. Capable of looking after herself, then, or just hopeful that she was. Somehow, Dev was inclined to think the former. "My name's Dev. Did you find me out on the plains?"

She nodded. "Yes. You'd tripped and hit your head, I'd thought…or maybe you just fainted from hunger?" Dev shrugged.

"A mixture of both, I guess. I was getting light-headed from hunger, tripped, fell, got up too quickly and fainted. I'm in your debt."

The girl shook her head and waved the statement away. "Not at all! I couldn't leave you out there, could I? My name's Lyn, of the Lorca." The Lorca tribe… She guessed she'd found one of the survivors of the attack on the camp she'd passed. Lyn probably didn't want to call attention to the fact that she was alone. Dev knew the feeling, maybe not as intensely, but an approximation of it. It was painful to call up past hurts, and, of course, there was always the consideration that someone alone anywhere was an invitation to brigands. Best on all counts to pretend you have someone nearby–like Lyn–or keep your head down as much as possible and carry nothing much worth stealing–like Dev. She held out the cup again and Lyn refilled it. She drank down her fourth cup and nodded.

"Then, thank you Lyn. If there's anything I can do for you–" Lyn patted her shoulder.

"I told you. It's nothing. You must believe me, because–"

"The people of Sacae never lie. Brave, honest and proud." Dev nodded. "I know. I know a lot, actually–I'm a traveller, and a somewhat studious one at that."

"I had guessed from your attire. What brings you to Sacae?" Dev winced inwardly–_it's the bounty on my head, yeah, she'll react nicely to that–_and avoided the question.

"Just travelling. I've wondered for a time about the plains of Sacae, and they're easier to get to than the Warrior Isles. They're quite interesting too–" Her attempt at diverting Lyn didn't work; Lyn frowned and prepared to re-phrase the question when she froze, looking at the cloth wall of the ger. Dev was silent as well; she'd head it too. Rough voices, yelling, harsh laughter and cracks, as of splitting wood.

"Bandits," Dev said, her voice lowered to a whisper, biting her lip. Damnit, she'd seen enough ruins for this week. Lyn stuck her head outside for a minute, and returned inside, grabbing her sword from a corner of the ger behind Dev; her own staff was there too, with her cloak and bag draped over it.

"They're going to attack a nearby family," Lyn was saying. "I'll deal with them; Key can't. There are only a few, so I think I can handle them." Oh crap. Her conscience was beginning to bother her. "You stay here where it's safe." She didn't have to; she could help! She was good at this, at tactics and direction, and yet… "I'll be back soon." Damned tactics had cost her so much, her home, the few friends she'd had. She wanted to forget it.

Lyn disappeared out the tentflap and was gone without waiting for a response. _If there's anything I can do for you–_ Well, this was something, wasn't it? And she was going to chicken out. If there was one thing she'd been taught, that she still valued, it was honor, and she was untrue to it far too often. Breaking her promise, when she owed Lyn a debt... The knights she had worked with would never have done such a thing. Honor was almost the only thing she had left of them.

She grabbed her cloak, put it on hurriedly, letting her bag fall to the floor, and brought her staff with her as she ran after Lyn.

"Lyn, Lyn!" she called as quietly as she could, running up behind her. Lyn looked at her as if she were crazy, and maybe she was, coming back to these things. "Lyn," she continued, not listening to the part of her that screamed to go back inside, "I want to help. To repay you," she explained. "I can't leave you on your own." Lyn looked at Dev, then at the bandits, clearly torn.

"Well…Can you use a weapon?" she asked, looking at the staff in her hands doubtfully. Five and a half feet long, slightly taller than Dev herself, and made of hard oak, it was solid, but otherwise unremarkable. It didn't have a lot of capacity to cause damage to anyone compared to a sword (part of the reason Dev used it), but was thick and strong, and bore nicks and marks from encounters with blades, where it had saved its owner's life.

"Well enough to protect myself, not well enough to take anyone down," Dev answered, truthfully enough. "That wasn't my idea. You see…" She hesitated before saying the words that sent her headlong down the path Fate had planned for her.

"I'm a tactician by trade."

………………………..

"Go to the woods, and fight him, big ugly guy there, doesn't know what shoes are, from inside the cover of the trees. Don't let him in, use the branches to block his strokes, and it should be easy. That'll get him out of the way, and I'll see your style."_ And by the way, do I sound like I know what I'm doing? Hope so, because it's been too long for me to be risking your life with this nonsense. _She hadn't done this, hadn't even thought like this, since she'd left Bern and begun traveling. She was rusty, and as far as she was concerned, she hadn't been too shiny before the rust started growing.

She watched Lyn run down to the edge of the small wood, more a glade than a forest, and studied her carefully as she fought. _Fast and agile. She's good at dodging, too. Her sword moves like lightning…for every swipe he gets in, she manages two. Not too much power behind those strokes, though. _She looked towards the other bandit. He stood in the doorway of the deserted yurt. He had the wall to his back, which would make it harder for Lyn to dodge him, force her to guard her strokes in case she cut the fabric. That was someone's home. Dev ran down, joining her as she defeated the first bandit, without a scratch on her. Not as much could be said for him. Dev ignored the smell of blood.

"See if you can lure him away from there. If not, I'll try to. And if he's determined not to move…you'll just have to do your best with what you have. Try and attack from his side." _That'll force him to guard his strokes or get out of the doorway, in case he shatters a beam and finds himself buried. …If I'm right. I hope I'm right. Unless, of course, he's that much of an idiot, in which case I hope Lyn doesn't mind houseguests. _Lyn tried to lure him out, with no success, any attempt on Dev's part ended the same way. She shrugged and motioned to the side of the bandit. Lyn went up to him.

Lyn rushed him from the side, as Dev had suggested, and got in two good hits. The bandit attacked, bringing his axe in a wide arc, aiming for her middle. Lyn jumped back and parried with her sword, slicing his axe arm and receiving a jar to her own arm. She managed to keep hold of her sword, but let her concentration slip. The bandit reversed his stroke, lowering it in a sweeping move, trying to take Lyn's feet–literally–out from under her.

"Lyn!" Dev shouted. "Jump! Now!" She was taking a chance that Lyn would be able to jump high enough, but it seemed small. Lyn heard her, saw the axe, and jumped, not only clearing the axe, but bringing one foot down on the blade. The bandit staggered with the sudden weight, enough of a distraction to allow Lyn to slice through a wide portion of his neck, even though the axe's movement had thrown her off balance. From the blood that spilled out and the limp way he fell, it had been a fatal stroke. Dev sagged with relief. She'd almost thought she'd sent the Sacaen to her death, for a moment. Several moments, for that matter. Lyn seemed to have no such doubts in her.

"That's all of them, and Key is fine! Did I worry you? Sorry if I did." _No, Lyn. I worried myself, there…I don't know what I was thinking, bringing this back into my life…_Dev shook her head, still somewhat stunned. "You were very good. Where did you learn that?" Ah hell, there was _that_ question.

"Ah, here and there. Mostly out of books, although I've worked with… mercenaries, a few times. It's mostly theory. I'm…new." Plausible? Very. Convincing? From Lyn's face, no, but she was not telling the truth on this count. Telling the truth would more than likely mean going back. That was one thing she was not doing.

Lyn was frowning. She looked up at Dev, seemed about to say something, and stopped, continuing to her home. Dev yawned as they walked up to the door.

"Are you tired? You shouldn't have pushed yourself like that. You should get inside and rest." Lyn let Dev go inside first, closing the tentflap after them. Lyn replaced her sword in its corner, Dev hung her cloak and bag back on her staff before resting it in the same corner. _Double duty as a coat rack,_ she thought wearily. _Not worth its salt as a weapon…'course, I'm not worth my own salt as a fighter anyway, so it doesn't really matter. _Lyn pointed to the bed.

"You should get some sleep. Take the bed for tonight," she told Dev, who shook her head.

"I can't take your bed. I've already taken your food and time, and–" Lyn pushed her into the bed. Dev yelled in surprise and looked up, glaring at Lyn.

"You are tired. You are taking the bed. I will wake you up in the morning." Dev started to argue, then sighed and smiled.

"Yes, ma'am." She took off her outer tunic, and lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She saw the remains of the bread, cheese and meat from before, and began chewing on it as she thought. What would she do now? Find out her position from Lyn, and then…on to Lycia, she supposed. …How the heck was she going to get by in Lycia, anyway? She had one talent and she couldn't stand it. What would she do? She couldn't play a musical instrument or dance, she was too restless to take a job in a castle or inn, she couldn't cook, couldn't clean very well (as her cloak showed), couldn't do a lot of things that earned money...

……………………

Without meaning to, she dozed off, thinking of possible ways to make a living in Lycia. True to her word, Lyn woke her up the next morning.

"Good morning, Dev! Do you want some porridge? It's all I've really got for breakfast. Here you go. It has dried fruit in it, and honey." Dried fruit and honey, nice. Normally she wouldn't have touched porridge–it had no taste or texture whatsoever–but with the addition of the fruit and honey, it was quite good, and Lyn's was thick and creamy. Not that runny goop hers always seemed to turn into. She gulped down one bowl and asked if there was more. Lyn nodded, refilled her bowl, and settled back down to her own breakfast. She was very quiet; from what little Dev knew of Lyn, this was odd.

"Um, Lyn? Is something on your mind? You're very quiet today," she said, finishing her second bowl. Lyn looked up, startled, and bit her lip.

"Yes…I wanted to ask a favor of you." She fingered the handle of her spoon before meeting Dev's eyes and speaking. "I can see that you have experience in the ways of war, so–" _You can see that? You have better eyes than me, Lyn._ "–I wondered… I want to ask you if I can accompany you. Please, bring me with you on your travels." Dev stared at her. She'd infected poor Lyn with her own insanity. She searched desperately for a way out, and without thinking, asked:

"Well, uh, if, er…If your parents say it's alright…" The instant she'd said it, she regretted it. Had she forgotten those ruins so quickly? A flicker of pain crossed Lyn's face, and Dev's conscience pricked her harder.

"My parents…have been dead these six months," Lyn said quietly. "My people, the Lorca, they don't…I'm all that's left. Bandits attacked, and they killed so many people…Afterwards, the tribe…what was left…scattered. My father was the chieftain, and I tried to lead, but our people were old-fashioned. They wouldn't follow a woman. No-one would follow me." She looked down and wiped her cheek.

"Lyn…I'm sorry…" Dev said, uncertain of what to do. Why had she said that; what had she been thinking?

"No, it's alright. I'm sorry for this, it's just that I've-- I've been alone for so long…" She closed her eyes. "No. I will shed no more tears." She was silent for a while, and Dev respected her desire for quiet.

Alone. Huh. She knew what that felt like. Hadn't she been alone for over two years now? A companion wouldn't be an entirely bad thing. It would shorten the miles on her trip, and fill the silence of the road. It would mean an end to being alone, for both of them, for a time, at least.

"Thank you," Lyn said, snapping Dev out of her reverie. "I'm sorry I broke down like that." Dev was amused, despite the gravity in the air; she called that breaking down? That was a crack compared to some people she'd known. "Dev, yesterday taught me something. I will not get any stronger by staying here. Please bring me with you, so that I can become stronger, and avenge the deaths of my people!" And then there was this side of the situation; Lyn expected her to continue in the capacity of a tactician.

She did not want to; she'd left it behind her, in the past. Bringing it back now was, it was like probing an open wound, to see just how painful you could make it. Every thought on deployment and tactics brought back memories she'd be happier to believe she'd forgotten. Memories of those she'd trusted, even loved, and of the times she'd failed them. Then again, Lyn only wanted to train and become stronger. Nothing horrible would happen, right?

"Well, in that case, it's-- It's okay. Sure you can come." She invited Lyn along with a smile that was largely forced. Hopefully, Lyn wouldn't notice.

She didn't. A grin spread across her face, and she began packing that instant, pulling a bag, clothes, food and everything else they might have needed seemingly out of nowhere. "Really? Thank you! I know, together we can become the best that ever lived!" She gripped Dev's hand with an enthusiasm that left Dev speechless. "I'll be your peerless warrior, and you'll be my master strategist! Right?" She threw a whetstone perilously close to Dev's head; only Dev's reflexes saved her head.

"Huh? Well, uhm… yeah, I–" Lyn was too excited to pay much attention to her response, luckily. Master strategist? Oh boy. She was in over her head. Fathoms over her head, by her estimate.

She got herself another bowl of porridge. It was going to be a long day.

……………………………

_Okay. Welcome to the story if you've just begun reading it. Hope you've found it to your liking-- at this time (as I write these revised A/N,) there are four more chapters, leading up to the point where the group leaves Araphen. If you wish, read on. I will be deviating from the plot of the game in places, and not every battle will be dramatized entirely. _

_Certain characters will get extra attention, namely Dev, Lyn, Eliwood and Hector, Sain and Kent, Rath, Heath, Ninian and Nils, Erk, Serra, Nino, Canas, Raven, Matthew, Wil, Dart, Lloyd, Linus, Uhai, Ephidel (on request), and... the list is around here somewhere, I know it. Those aren't the only ones, anyway. I don't mind people asking for attention to certain characters. _

_If, for some reason, when I said I was revamping these chapters you decided to re-read them, uh... Guys, it took me approximately 5 minutes. I took out one bit (about her bag), added in another bit (about the knights) tweaked the grammar and punctuation, and decided to be anal about the difference between a strategist and a tactician. (There is a difference, yes, and I take these differences between words very seriously when I'm in the mood to do so.) _

_So... that's about it. Reviews are always greatly appreciated. _


	2. Birthright

Patarasus: puh-TAR-a-suhs Or something like that

**Chapter 2:**

**Birthrights**

They set out on their adventure later that day. Dev was amazed at how quickly Lyn packed up, and at the ease with which she had left her home, considering it was all she had. Lyn told her that Key's family, the ones they'd rescued, would pick up the tent, since Lyn had told them she was leaving. An extra tent was always a bonus, and when Lyn returned to the plains, she would get it back. Their first stop was Bulgar, the largest town in Sacae. They had both decided on the destination, knowing they would need more supplies than Lyn had had in her tent.

Lyn had a horse, although she had never favored fighting on horseback. She showed him to Dev; he was corralled (the Sacaens dislike the use of stables, considering them too confined for the good of the horse) behind the tent and came over at her whistle. He was a blue roan, seven years old, a well-built stallion with excellent bone and muscle. He stood calmly enough for Lyn, allowing her to saddle and bridle him, responding to her slightest command, willing and eager under her hands. Watching them sent a pang of regret through Dev's heart; Lyn's Thunder was exactly like her own Khend. Lyn rode over to Dev and offered a hand to get her up onto the horse behind Lyn. Dev did not go near the horse. As she'd been thinking, Thunder was exactly like Khend. Khend was the reason that that prick Wherias only had three fingers on his right hand.

"No, it's alright. I'll walk. How far is it to Bulgar?"

"Only a day's _ride._" Dev did not miss the emphasis on the last word. Sighing inwardly, she placed her staff into the holders on her pack and stepped up to Thunder to try to swing onto his back.

……………..

They arrived in Bulgar two and a half days later. Dev's first assessment of Thunder had been accurate, but she'd gotten away from the horse with only severe bruising on her hand, instead of any blood or digit-loss. Lyn had been extremely apologetic, placing a poultice on her hand and checking the bandage every mile. It was nice, for three or so hours, but after that Dev got sick of the worrying Lyn was doing and threatened to run off if she didn't stop. After that, Lyn had been a far less annoying companion. She was still bouncing in the saddle from excitement, though. Dev hadn't seen someone this excited since…um… her memory was failing her… Damn. Perhaps she hadn't met anyone this excited before. Still, she'd managed to calm down often enough for the two to forge a bond of friendship on the journey. This was looking like a better idea every moment.

Bulgar was the biggest city in Sacae. Dev would have called it a town, but hey, this was The Country Of The Neverending Grass; she'd been expecting a far smaller settlement. Besides, it wasn't as if it was tiny; it was a trading hub connecting Sacae, Bern and Ilia together and showed in the width of its streets and the variation of its clientele and goods. Lances and magic tomes such as the Sacaen nomads rarely used were found in the armories and shops; the better inns offered stabling for pegasi and wyverns as well as horses. A blue-haired pegasus knight no older than Dev and Lyn was running around, gathering supplies for a mission when she bumped into them. They spent ten minutes finding all her things.

They agreed on the supplies they needed to get, found an inn, checked in and stabled Thunder (Dev considered putting a 'warning' sign on him, but settled on a verbal caution to the stableboy, they could usually recognise that telltale gleam in the eyes anyway) and went to the room they'd checked out for the night. The room was barely big enough for the lone bed and they wound up fighting over who didn'thave to sleep on it. Dev won, as her companion was still so excited about being on the road. Lyn probably would have slept on a bed made of rats. Dead, rotting ones, complete with maggots. Dev, on the other hand, wasn't entirely convinced that Lyn wouldn't be, and was more than happy to claim the floor.

Of course, they stayed up for a while, talking. Neither was tired, or excited, enough to justify letting their guard down; whatever lived in the room, bugs or rodents. (There was no question of whether or not something lived in the room, but they argued for a time over what exactly it was that they were bunking with.)

"How old are you, anyway, Lyn?" Dev asked, once they had established that the scraping sounds were too big for bugs.

"Eighteen years, two months ago," Lyn told her. "And what about you? How old are you, where are you from?"

"Ah…I'm eighteen too, no, I'm eighteen in three months. I'm from Ilia, in a village called Sentanis, on the Venlask Mountain range. It's in the northern half," she elaborated when Lyn looked confused, "and not very long or big. It's not a bad place for farming-- it doesn't rely on the knight brigades as much as the other towns," she finished, not seeming at all concerned about her hometown. "Last time I was there, I was about eight or so. I went to live near the capital with an aunt." A little lie.

"Do you want to go there? On our trip, I mean." Oh, jeez. No, no I do not want to go there; I'm not welcome in that country. Well, I'm _extremely _welcome, actually, but it's not the reception I'd want.

"…Not really. It's kind of boring, from what I remember. Just like every other town in Ilia, really, only less worrying about food." Lyn frowned. Dev began to worry. Was she going to make a fuss about this?

"Don't you miss it?"

"I miss my family, I guess, but I write to them often." Lie. Blatant, glaring lie. The conversation was starting to be uncomfortable. "…Why are you so interested in my hometown?"

"No reason, I just thought you'd like to go home." Now it was Dev's turn to look confused.

"I prefer travelling around. I like it better out on the road," she explained. That was true enough, she thought with inward relief. Strangely enough, she didn't like to lie to Lyn. It wasn't that she thought lying was a hobby or anything, but she'd never felt so guilty about lying to someone.

"Why would you like sleeping in the dirt more than being home?" Lyn didn't get it at all.

"Have you ever travelled before?" Dev asked Lyn after a moment's thought on the subject, wrapping her cloak tightly around her for extra protection. Something had definitely moved in that corner.

Lyn shook her head. "Not for a long way. I have travelled, of course, but it was from camp to camp, with my tribe. I've never travelled for the sake of travelling, though, and since we were taking our homes with us, I can't really say I've travelled away from home. Was that what you were asking?" Dev nodded. "Is that what you do, travel for the sake of it? Why?" Lyn asked Dev.

"I'm not implying that I think you'll slow me down, I just wondered… Wait. Why?" Dev looked at Lyn incredulously. "You don't understand why someone would travel around and see the world?" Lyn shook her head. Dev stared, perplexed, as Lyn answered.

"No. If I could, I would be content to simply stay in my homeland for all of my life, but I know I must become stronger. Someday, I will return, and never again leave. Why leave your home just to see things?" Dev shook her head.

"Lyn… I don't know how to explain. …Have you ever seen a huge mountain, Lyn? Not the tiny hills on the Bern border, real giants humans can't climb, ones even pegasi and wyverns can't reach the tops of. Or the ocean?" Lyn shook her head, probably wondering what was so great about what she thought were just giant rocks and a giant puddle. Dev went on, finding her favorite pieces of architecture to describe. "Or the Three Towers of Magecraft in Etruria? They built those with magic, it was amazing to see them; they look as if the rock just… just flowed up and made the towers; there's no mortar or blocks or braces or anything, they shouldn't stand up. But they do, and they are an awesome sight, the Anima tower's all decorated with flames and lightning bolts and sculptures of spirits, you know, the spirits of the elements, Earth, Sky, Flame and Water? It's all different colours of stone and clay, red clay and rubies, and blue sapphires, and topaz and amethyst, just raw and uncut and wild, the ruby phoenix at the top is amazing, as if it's truly on fire! And you should see the Elder Tower at sunrise; it's made of obsidian and the effect is spectacular, especially since there are carvings of demons, minotaurs and hydras and suchlike, and the light all over them makes them look like they're right out of the pits of Hell. The Light Tower doesn't even need the sun, Lyn, it illuminates the entire… It lights up the surrounding area for about a mile at night, as if it soaks up the sun in the day and lets it out at night! There are angels and mythical beasts, like gryphons and valkryies and on the top, Lyn, The Eight Heroes, with Saint Elimine at the top, holding out a book as a symbol of learning and memory, telling all those who look on the tower to never forget the Scouring... Lyn, you can't say you don't want to see that!" Dev finished with a shout, then frowned.

She'd fallen asleep. Even sleeping on that bed, in this room, was more appealing to Lyn than listening to Dev's enthusiasm over the magical architecture of Etruria. Dev sighed and shook her head. Maybe Lyn just wasn't the adventuring type. Dev couldn't imagine staying in one place all her life, without seeing all the world had to offer to those willing to look for it; yet, she knew that life wasn't for everyone. Punching her pack into a slightly more comfortable shape (trusting there was nothing breakable in the path of her fist), she draped one of their blankets over Lyn and the other over herself. Settling down, she allowed herself one last, determined thought before she drifted off for the night:

_I am taking you to see those towers, Lyn. Someday, you will see those towers, and if they don't get you, nothing will. Next stop: Etruria. _

…………………………

Dev announced their destination the next day. Lyn seemed bemused, but she agreed that Etruria would be a good place to go first. Actually, she had an expression on her face that suggested she didn't have any idea of why Etruria was relevant to anything. That girl was plain unfathomable.

"…Anyway… It's a long trip, so we'll need lots of supplies. You get food, I'll get vulneraries. How much money do you have?"

"A hundred gold. We don't use gold much in Sacae, we simply trade for things." Dev bit her lip. They had three hundred gold between them.

Maybe they didn't need vulneraries. They did need food, though. Dev gave Lyn a list of things to get, and went off herself in search of a place that sold clothing. She needed a new cloak; this one was so frayed and full of holes it wouldn't be out of place in an Eliminean temple. She found a decent shop, and got a new one, trading her old one to the tailor along with a few gold. She had no idea what he'd use it for, maybe to patch up other fabric or as a rag. From the look on his face, he didn't know either.

Wearing the new garment, she went in search of Lyn, navigating her way through the crowd with ease. No-one spared a glance in her direction; she was used to it. It was partly her own skill in going unnoticed, and partly her decidedly average looks. Either way, she was perfectly happy with that arrangement. She didn't particularly want people coming up to her and introducing themselves on whims…

"Ahh! What radiance! What perfection! Please, young lady, would you grace me with your name?" There was a green-armoured knight in a side-street, rushing towards the main street of the town, leading a handsome bay destrier. He had tousled brown hair, just long enough to obscure his vision and held out of his green eyes with a brownish (it might have just been a dust-covered red, actually) headband. He skidded to a halt near Dev and she began to walk on, not wanting to draw attention.

Unfortunately, she already had. "Ah! No, do not leave! Your gallant knight Sain is here to serve you!" Dev felt a tug on the sleeve of her cloak and looked up into messy hair, green eyes and a dirty hairband. Oh. Was he serious?

"Me?" she asked, rather stupidly. He let go of her sleeve and bowed with an elaborate flourish. His horse whinnied loudly, and he shushed it.

"Star, hush! I am speaking to the lovely… I am sorry! I do not know your name! Please…" He tried to take her hand; she stuffed it beneath her cloak.

"Uh…Dev. I'm Dev. And I really have to be going…I'm meeting a friend in a little while…" Star pranced at the sight of another destrier, this one a strawberry roan. This other horse tossed its head, standing otherwise perfectly still as its rider dismounted. He (it was definitely a stallion) carried another knight, with carrot-coloured, neatly clipped hair that clashed wonderfully with his ruby-red armour trimmed, like Sain's, in golden metal (which she strongly doubted was actually gold). A sword rested by his side. He was frowning severely. Dev raised her eyebrows. Was she in trouble? Damnit! How to escape these two… "I'm sorry, sir, I have to find my friend Lyn…"

"Allow me to escort you! A beautiful lady such as yourself should not be alone in such a place–" The other knight came forward and laid a hand on Sain's shoulder angrily. Nope, she wasn't the one in trouble. Poor fool, he didn't seem to mean harm by his actions… even if they were a bit creepy at first. Sain looked over and exclaimed, "Kent! Where have you been? I was–" Dev didn't wait to hear what Sain was (other than mad). She took the opportunity to slip into the crowd, away from the two knights, trying not to laugh. What an odd person.

……………………

"–Was simply offering my services to a lone girl. It was only chivalry, my friend." Kent snorted. Sain was going to drive him mad someday. How had he been assigned for this mission? Lord Hausen certainly had a lot of faith in this lout.

"Chivalry my eye. I'm sorry for my companion, miss…ah…" The girl had disappeared as Sain had been speaking. Sain looked around and proceeded with his usual drama.

"What? She has disappeared! Some villain has absconded with her! She has been kidnapped! I will not–" Kent slapped his partner lightly on the back of the head. He was wearing gauntlets, after all.

"Sain, I highly doubt she has been kidnapped, and even if she had, we have a mission to perform. We are–"

"Searching for the Ladies Madelyn and Lyndis, yes, Kent, I know. Why, my boon companion, must you forever be so serious? There is time to help one girl find her friend." Kent glared at him for an answer and Sain sighed. "Very well. What did you learn?" Kent frowned.

"…A minor setback. I have learned of the Lady Lyndis' whereabouts… 'about' being the key word. The tribe the Lady Madelyn lived with, the Lorca, were all but annihilated six months past." Sain gripped his lance tightly, yelling.

"No! All for naught? Or.. Wait, the Lady Lyndis yet lives?" Kent nodded and a smile reappeared on Sain's face. Honestly, he was irrepressible.

"Yes. She lives alone now, in a small camp to the west of here. We ride out in the morning." He looked at Sain's empty scabbard. "Go buy yourself another sword, will you?" Sain nodded and led Star off into the town square. Kent shook his head and went to buy vulneraries and other emergency first-aid supplies.

Knowing Sain, and the Sacaen women's tendency to take offence, they were going to need it. A green-haired young woman, simply clad in a long blue dress split up the sides, was coming towards him. There was a sword at her side, resting beside a bag. She was reading a list as she walked. He stepped in front of her and bowed as was courteous.

"I'm sorry, miss, but do you know where in this town I can purchase vulneraries and other such equipment?" She nodded, let the hand holding the list drop, and pointed with her other hand. She had blue green eyes, clear and determined, set in a striking face. They seemed to be appraising him as he spoke or listened. Elimine, he hoped she did _not_ run into Sain. The fool wouldn't be able to resist, and looking at this woman, it might be the last thing he ever did.

"Down that way, your second right. There is a sign depicting a healing staff shining with light outside it, but it sells non-magical items as well. …May I ask if you have seen a young woman in blue and brown traveller's attire, with rather messy brown hair? She is quite slight of build, and not particularly tall." Kent nodded. So this was the friend that girl had been meeting.

"Yes, called Dev, was it?" The woman nodded. "She went that way," he told her, pointing down the road. "My partner met her only a moment ago." He would not say why. He was too attached to life. "She said something about meeting a friend." The Sacaen woman nodded, thanked him, and continued on her way. Kent went the way he'd been pointed.

That young woman had seemed extremely familiar… What had that girl Dev said… Lyn… He stopped.

He could not believe his luck. Or stupidity. Those eyes… The eyes of his liege's daughter… How could he not have seen? He turned around and dashed after her. Fidele whinnied in protest of the sudden change in circumstances, but followed faithfully.

He _truly _hoped Sain did not run into her.

………………………..

Sain went to buy a sword with the best intentions. He went into an armory, only to learn that it was full of bows, arrows, and nothing else. He asked where he could buy a new sword and was sent back in the direction from which he'd come, with instructions to look for a sign with–of all things– a sword on it. The shopkeeper seemed to think he was an idiot. He dragged Star back down the road…

Oh! What a delight! A woman walked down the road, the most beautiful one he'd ever seen! (For once, it was close to being true.) He had never before seen anyone so… so striking! She had long green hair, tied up in a ponytail, and beautiful eyes of the clearest teal. Her dress was embroidered in Sacaen designs on sky-blue fabric, split up the side for ease of movement. A sword rested by her side. Before he could make his presence known, however, someone ran up to her, calling out happily.

Why, the lady Dev! She'd disappeared so abruptly, but Kent had been right! As he usually was, admittedly, but it was good that she had not been hurt. The two began talking. So this was her friend… there was something bothering him now… what had Dev said her friend's name was? Oh dear, Kent had knocked it out of his head back there… Ah, he could not help himself.

""What a dazzling vision of loveliness!" he cried out, almost shocked (as ever) at his own sappiness. He was truly hopeless, just as Eagler had said. Oh well, an enjoyable hopelessness it was. "Please, would you favor me with your name? Or better yet, your company?" Dev started and looked up, seeming at the same time to be disappointed and amused. The other, the Sacaen, stared at him in equal disbelief, although she looked altogether angrier.

"Where are you from, sir knight, that speaks so freely to a stranger?" she asked, very formally, with ice in her voice.

"Ah, I'd thought you'd never ask! I hail from the Caelin canton, home to men of passion and fire!" He hefted his lance and Dev seemed to stifle a laugh. Either that or she was choking on something. Well, she'd come around, anyway. Now… her friend…

Looked like she was going to carve him a new mouth. If he was lucky.

"Shouldn't that be 'home to callow oafs with loose tongues'?"

"Ah, you're even lovelier when you're cruel," he told her, realizing as he did so that he was probably signing his own death warrant.

"Gah! Are the knights of Lycia all as indecent as _you_? Come, Dev, I am done here!"

"Ah, Lyn, calm down… I don't think he meant harm… Some men just like romance and drama, that's all…" Their voices faded away as Sain's jaw dropped and he stared after them, dumbstruck. Star nudged him, worried.

Lyn? _Lyn? _As in _Lyn_dis? Oh no, oh no… He had to find Kent!

He turned around and searched. After a moment, he saw Kent running toward him at full speed. Had Kent been looking for _him_? …Kent usually was, actually. Sain waved him down. "Kent! Kent, I just saw a young woman called Lyn, with the young lady Dev, do you think–" Kent nodded, his face lighting up.

"Is she here?" His smile faded into an expression of disgust as Sain squirmed. "You didn't…Oh, who am I kidding. You did, of course you did; you're _you._ Well, I'll just be thankful you're alive. Come, we must find them! Where did they go?" Kent mounted Fidele, the large stallion tossing his head excitedly, sensing a gallop in his near future. Sain swung onto Star and took up her reins. They trotted until they were clear of the town gates, then set off at a full gallop, westward.

……………………………….

"So, this is the western gate?" Lyn nodded, still in a light huff over the knights. Thunder pranced nervously underneath her, eyeing Dev hungrily.

"Yes, but I want to go to a small shrine first. To ask the spirits for luck." Lyn looked as if she expected Dev to scoff. Instead Dev smiled.

"Right. Lead the way. To the spirits!" Spirits and shrines, what sort of enemies would they meet there? It wasn't that she hoped they wouldn't meet any enemies; that would have defeated Lyn's purpose in coming. Still, every day Dev went without having to fight people was a good day in her books.

Bushes rustled to her right. This area was a sparse woodland, only about half forest, but nothing in between big enough to be a plain or meadow, or even a proper wood, only clearings and glades. Good place to ambush someone. Dev's hand tightened on her staff. Lyn looked down and the two traded a glance that said one thing: Bandits are here. Dev swore underneath her breath, but maintained a casual demeanour, and instructed Lyn to do the same. The ambushers would expect them to be off guard; they themselves were in for a surprise. As long as they did not know Dev and Lyn knew of their presence…

"Dev, would you like to ride Thunder for a while?" Lyn asked, as casually as she could. Dev shook her head; that horse looked even meaner than usual just now.

"How far do you think it is to the shrine, Lyn?" she asked, hoping it wasn't far at all. Lyn shook her head.

"A day's ride." Running to the shrine was out, then. Dev was trying to think of a way to lure the bandits out, when one walked out in front of her.

"Heheh… You're Lyndis, aren't you?" asked the bandit, a grey-haired, heavily built man with a smashed nose and scarred face. He carried a huge axe over one shoulder as if it weighed no more than its garden-variety cousin.

Lyn reacted with obvious shock. "Wh…What did you call me?" The bandit grinned.

"Ah, what an absolute waste," he chuckled. "The things I'll do for gold… Ah well! C'mon out boys!" In the space of a minute, four more bandits had stepped out and surrounded Dev and Lyn. Lyn dismounted and secured Thunder's reins as she drew her sword.

"Four more… Damn, I don't think I can take them all… What are we going to do?" Dev licked her lips nervously. Lyn was right.

"Maybe… if we ducked into the woods we could lose them… If we hid in a tree or something…"

"What about Thunder? He's all the family I have left." Dev grimaced. She hadn't thought Lyn would leave Thunder, and she'd actually felt bad about it too.

"…Give them a fight to remember, I guess… If you fight from the woods… They don't look like they know the meaning of 'aim', so you might have an advantage there. I think our only hope is to scare– huh?" She turned to the east, towards the town gate. Hoofbeats? Shoed horses too, not Sacaen mounts.

It couldn't be those Caelin knights? No… Yes, there they were! What were their names again? Sain and… Kent? She took her chances with Thunder, clambering onto his saddle before he could react. Waving her staff in the air, she called out. Lyn saw what she was doing and grimaced. The knights wheeled their horses and galloped towards them. Kent drew his sword, slipping his arm through a crimson shield, as Sain unhooked a lance from his saddle, donning a similar shield in the same emerald as his armour. Both guided their steeds with their knees; either that or the horses needed no guidance. That stallion of Kent's looked particularly ready to do battle. The mare, like her master, seemed more interested in showing off. She galloped through the bandits' circle, scattering those close to her, pivoting to face them and rearing dramatically. The stallion snorted in her direction as he joined her, stamping the ground viciously and rolling his eyes to see all the enemies. Dev stared. That was a _warhorse._ They were as good as the soldiers they carried!

"Such numbers against a woman? Cowards, the lot of you!" Sain cried, raising his lance in a challenge as Kent eyed him suspiciously. He looked as if he wanted to hit Sain on the head. The look on Lyn's face made Kent's likely intentions look positively friendly and loving.

"You are the knights from town? What–" She was extremely angry, but she was also looking at Sain. Sain did not notice.

"We can discuss that later, mi– ah… It appears these ruffians intend to do you harm. If it is a fight they want, let them look to me! Stand back; we will handle this!"

"Why are you here?" she asked. "I need no aid!" Kent looked at her as if she were insane, a sentiment Dev was sharing with him, although she didn't mask it quite as well.

"Lyn, don't take this the wrong way, but these people are fairly determined assassins, and they outnumber you five to one, even if they are idiots. You need help." Lyn glared at her.

"I have your help! I do not need these knights' assistance! I fight my own battles!"

"Then you need help of two kinds and a funeral plan!" The two glared at each other. The bandits looked at each other uneasily, probably wondering if the knights were indeed going to fight. The Lycians had bought them time… they couldn't waste it like this.

"We cannot stand and do nothing! Neither my heart nor the vows I took as a knight of Lycia would allow it!" Sain protested.

Kent spoke, not taking his eyes from the bandits. "Your name is Dev, is it not? Are you a strategist?" he asked, seeming sceptical.

"Yes, I am," Dev told him, cutting Lyn off before she could speak. Kent nodded curtly, probably the only way he knew how.

"Very well. I have a suggestion. I am Kent, and my partner there is Sain– you already met him, I'm sorry to say. We will follow your commands in this battle. Is that acceptable to you and la– your friend?"

"Yes," Dev replied, again before Lyn could. "We'll lose them after this battle. The main idea here is to not die. Alright?" Lyn nodded, although reluctance showed in her eyes.

"If you say so. I don't trust them." She frowned. "Wait-- I met Kent in the town. He seemed nice enough. Unlike his partner." Dev shrugged.

"I don't think he can help it, actually, Lyn. Now, why are you standing here and not watching the bandits?" Lyn started guiltily and whirled around, her blade at the ready. Dev nodded.

"Alright–"

"Lady Dev! Permit me to strike the first blow!" Sain cried, holding his lance aloft in a very…knightly…fashion. Dev stared at him for a moment–who could help it?– before nodding. He was just so _odd._

"Alright, you take that bandit, Kent takes any bandits going after your back–" Kent sighed almost imperceptibly, "–and Lyn, stay over here and watch for any that come near you. No, don't go out, it's you they're after!" Lyn frowned and seemed about to say something when one of the bandits came up at her left, slicing through the air with his axe. Lyn sidestepped, a rushed manoeuvre, and the bandit knew it. He reversed his stroke and came in low. Lyn saw it just in time and hopped back, out of his range. As he straightened, she sliced his axe arm open with the tip of her sword. Switching his axe to his other hand, he chopped at Lyn's right shoulder, coming from over her head. Lyn pivoted and blocked his attack, bringing her sword downwards and slicing his other arm open at the same time. The bandit fell to the ground; as he did, Lyn stabbed him through the neck and his own downward momentum pulled her sword out. She watched the others for the next attacker and was not disappointed; the leader came to the fray himself, chopping the air in her direction, fury written all over his face.

"Ah!" The knights, she'd nearly forgotten! Dev whipped her head around to look at Sain. …Why in _hell _ was he attacking an _axeman _with a _lance? _What kind of fool knight was he? She was surprised the bandits hadn't chopped the thing in two yet. She wanted to yell at him, but from the yelling already going on, that was Kent's job.

"Where is your sword?" Kent spoke without looking at his partner, concentrating on the enemy in front of him, fighting with obvious skill.

"I…ah… The armory only had bows, and then I…" Sain desperately avoided the axe as he spoke. Luckily, the bandits didn't know as much about fighting as the knights seemed to, and he managed to get out of the weapon's way each time.

"Saw a girl?"

"Eh… But the lance is more heroic anyway, and a knight should look heroic! Besides, I'm better with it than with any sword," Sain protested. Kent threw a sword at his partner, although he kept his own in his hand.

"Take my spare, and use it!" Kent ordered his companion, returning to the fray almost instantly. Sain strapped his lance to his saddle and reengaged the bandit with his, or rather Kent's, sword. The bandit blocked the blade clumsily, nearly dropping it, and ran into a glade of trees and Sain tried to follow him.

"Stay out of the trees, you won't be able to move on that horse!" Dev yelled at him. "Yes, you, Sain, do you see anyone else trying to force their horse into the woods? And wait for him to come out so you have a clear shot! I said _wait!" _My, he was infuriat–

The last bandit came at Dev, roaring a battle cry and swinging his axe over his head. Dev brought her staff over and in front of her head, halting the downward stroke, although the blow jarred her hands and arms. The bandit roared again–didn't he know Common?–and tugged his axe out of the wood, trying to chop through her shoulder this time. She pivoted and knocked his weapon off-course, then, seeing Kent riding up, moved to distract the bandit. She aimed a blow at his head. He batted her staff away as if it were a gnat, then stared at her in horror as Kent's sword ran him through. The knight half-bowed to Dev from his horse and Dev nodded back, turning her attention elsewhere. Sain and Kent's bandits were dead, ripped open by their swords. Lyn was still fighting her bandit, the leader, and Sain was nearby, although he did not fight. Lyn had probably warned him off.

She seemed to have the advantage as well, as the bandit's right arm hung limply at his side and his attacks with his left were awkward at best. Desperation showing on his face, he aimed a high swing at Lyn's neck, one Lyn easily dodged, and one that opened his defence. Lyn saw her advantage and pressed it hard, slicing through his other arm as he blocked her thrust to his chest. The next thrust hit its mark and the bandit fell to the ground, cursing the knights for meddling.

Said knights dismounted and walked over to Lyn and Dev. Lyn was wiping her sword on a patch of grass and eying them warily. Dev inspected her staff; a few more nicks, but nothing serious. One of these days, though, it was going to break. Kent bowed extremely formally to the two of them and Sain imitated him, although somewhat more casually, if it was possible to be casual and formal at the same time. He lounged against his lance, although his eyes were sharp and alert. Behind them, their horses got acquainted with Thunder. Thunder seemed extremely suspicious of them. So far, Thunder had seemed suspicious of anyone or –thing that wasn't Lyn, actually.

Kent walked over to her, waiting politely for a chance to speak. "That's all of them, Dev," Lyn was saying, barely noticing him. His manner didn't help, either; if Dev had come up and seen them, she would have wondered who had put such a realistic statue in the middle of nowhere.

"I was worried about you for a moment. Stay close to me from now on, alright?" Dev nodded.

"Sure, Lyn. One thing, though… that bandit, he–hmm? Do you want something, sir knight?" she asked, as Kent swallowed uncomfortably. Lyn looked over and met the knight's eyes.

"Ah… Sir Kent?"

"Yes, that is my name."

"…Thank you for your help. You were very generous to help us, when our quarrel had nothing to do with you. We are in your debt."

"No, you see, we were looking for you when we left the town anyway"

"Not that we wouldn't have helped if we hadn't been," Sain interjected, before allowing his partner to go on.

"…I… Allow me to explain. My partner and I are on a mission, a direct order from our marquess, Lord Hausen of Caelin, part of the Lycian League."

"Lycia?" Lyn asked. "That's the country beyond the mountains to the southwest, isn't it?"

Dev nodded. "As the pegasus flies, walking you have to go through a part of Bern," she told her, consulting her map.

Kent nodded. "This year, our liege received a letter from his daughter, Madelyn, who had eloped with a nomad some nineteen years ago. We have come as messengers to her in response to that letter."

Lyn's expression changed drastically, from attentive-but-disinterested to open shock. "Madelyn?" she asked, her voice a whisper. Dev watched her silently. The name on the headstone… Hmm. She could guess where this was going.

Kent nodded, watching Lyn carefully. Dev gave him the same treatment. That one bore watching; he was no loyal dullard, waiting on his master's command to piss. A faithful vassal, yes, but more than that by far. "Yes, our marquess' only daughter. He was heartbroken that she would abandon him so, and as such, declared that he had no daughter."

"However. this year we received a letter from her," Sain continued. "It said, likely among other things milord kept private, that she, her husband and their daughter were living happily on the Sacaen plains." Sain grinned, and for once, Kent did the same. "I remember well the marquess' joy, when he announced to his court that he had suddenly become a grandfather to a girl of eighteen years." He continued to smile, but his eyes acquired a sharp glint. "The granddaughter's name is Lyndis. This was also the name of the marquess' late wife, who had passed away at a young age."

"Lyndis?" Lyn was staring at the two knights openly now, one fist clenched and trembling. Dev said nothing; it was a personal moment for Lyn. …But why had that bandit called her Lyndis? Bandits, from what Dev knew, did not go around researching their targets.

Sain seemed not to hear. "That she should bear this name thawed the marquess' heart. Now, his only wish is to meet his daughter's family once. This is why we are here." Sain was obviously proud of having been picked, although his smile faded away with his next piece of information. "…We did not know that the Lady Madelyn had died shortly after sending her letter, however. We only learned this when we arrived in Bulgar. But, we did not come in vain. The daughter yet lives, alone on the plains."

Kent bowed slightly in Lyn's direction. "I knew it at once. You are the Lady Lyndis. Your resemblance to your departed mother is remarkable." Lyn swallowed.

"You have met my mother?" Kent shook his head.

"I have never met her directly, I am sorry to say. I saw her portraits in Castle Caelin, however." Lyn did not appear to hear him.

"Lyn?" Dev asked, forgetting the bandits for a moment.

"To the rest of my tribe, I was just Lyn. But with my parents, when it was just the three of us, I was Lyndis. I had never hoped to hear that name again. I was all alone, and now I have a grandfather." She stared at nothing, her fists clenched tightly to keep them from trembling.

"Lyn, it's-- wait. Only your parents knew that name?" Dev asked. "The rest of your tribe didn't know Lyn was short for something?" Lyn shook her head, looking at Dev.

"No, they didn't. Why?"

"The bandit called you Lyndis. And trust me, Lyn, bandits do _not_ go finding personal data about their random targets. Even assassins don't tend to. And those guys were not the graduating class of the Etrurian High Academy. I'm surprised the one that went after me knew to hit me with the shiny part of the axe. Someone told them. My guess is someone in Caelin."

Sain frowned. "Lord Lundgren."

"Who?" Lyn asked.

"The marquess' younger brother. When Lady Madelyn was disinherited, he became heir to the marquess' title. But now that the marquess has recognised his daughter again…" Kent trailed off as he spoke and Sain picked up the sentence.

"To be blunt, you are an obstacle to your granduncle's ambitions."

Lyn protested. "I have no interest in inheriting any title! He may have the lordship, I wish only to see my grandfather!"

"Unfortunately, Lord Lundgren is not the sort of man to believe that. The attempts on your life will likely persist." Sain continued with his bluntness.

"Then, what should I--"

"Do you want to go to Caelin? The only way to settle this is likely face-to-face negotiation, whether with words or steel, and you'll see your grandfather. Besides, if assassins are truly after you, then you'll be safer by far with the knights." Lyn nodded, looking at Dev suspiciously, noticing her use of the second-person.

"I feel that I have little choice in the matter. Yes, Sirs Kent and Sain. Please accompany me to Lycia."

"Of course. You are our liege, you forget."

"Your every command we shall obey, milady!"

"Alright. We'll go back to Bulgar for today and plan our route. Dev, you'll help, right?" Dev looked up and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll show you a good route through the mountains." She was being quiet, and she knew Lyn noticed, but she didn't want to discuss it here.

"Alright, then. We'll go back for now. Please tell me we can afford a better inn than last night, Dev." Dev nodded.

"I don't care if we can't, we're getting one," she replied, laughing weakly. Lyn chuckled in response. Kent steered them towards a good inn, the one the knights had stayed at the previous night. They covered the bill with the funds they had been given for their journey. They stayed up late determining a route to take and how long it would take to reach Caelin. Their estimates ranged from fifteen days to thirty, and they settled on aiming for twenty. Kent planned to petition the Marquess Araphen for aid; Sain wanted to spend a night in the inn at the Lycian border. Lyn offered no opinions on most things, having little knowledge of Lycia, and asking only to make the detour to the shrine she'd mentioned to Dev, and Dev was silent unless she had to say something about the map or route.

They had rented two rooms, one for the knights, one for Dev and Lyn. They were silent for a time, until Lyn spoke. "You don't want to go to Lycia, do you?"

"It's not Lycia, Lyn. Frankly, I want to go everywhere. I have no problem with Lycia. It's this noble business. I've had bad experiences with people like that. Lundgren seems like the worst kind of noble. The kind of person who sees other human beings as nothing but tools to be used or annoyances." Lyn looked at the floor.

"So you don't want to stay with me." Dev levered herself up and met Lyn's eyes.

"No, I don't want to get involved in the games of royalty. Lyn, I do want to keep travelling with you, I just--"

"I understand, Dev. It's going to be dangerous, after all, far more dangerous than I had envisioned before. But your companionship would do much to ease my journey. I'm not going to manage much conversation with those knights." Dev smiled.

"Yeah, not with the romantic and Sir stick-up-his-butt." She considered it for a moment and managed a small smile for Lyn. "Don't ask me to call you Lady Lyndis, though. I'd rather just keep calling you Lyn, if that's alright." Lyn smiled widely.

"Of course. I'm sure you have noticed, but I'm no noble, Dev. I'm a nomad, through and through…and I'm coming back to Sacae someday. And, until that day, I need someone to remind me who Lyn of the Lorca is." She reached out and extended her hand towards Dev; Dev clasped it tightly, grinning, the two setting their friendship in stone.

"I think I can do that, Lyn. Don't worry. I'll stick by you."

………………………

_Chapter two done. Reduxed and everything. Almost nothing changed here, either, although I did take out that dumb reference to Hanon and Barigan that I made without knowing which was a girl and which was a boy. (I am going to find the game's artbook somewhere, and then I won't make dumb mistakes like that.) Jeez... other than that, it's just details, details, details. I stuck a certain overpriced mercenary in there too-- did anyone notice? xP Right. Thanks for reading so far-- reviews are always appreciated. _

_(And yes, I know I said I'd be anal about the difference between strategy and tactics, but that doesn't mean Kent has to be. Dev knows the difference too, but she knows when not to make a fuss. And she's not anal like me.)_


	3. Lyndis' Legion

Part I, Chapter III:

**Part I, Chapter III:**

**Lyndis' Legion**

They left Bulgar the next morning, two hours after dawn. The three with horses rode theirs, and Dev got to ride with Kent, considering Sain's oddness and Thunder's homicidal tendencies. Kent was a very untalkative companion, and he insisted on riding two horse-lengths behind Lyn, as was apparently proper. This made it very difficult to carry out a sane conversation with anyone, and by noon, Dev was beginning to feel the need for a conversation. She didn't know what it was, or why she had it, but there had been a sense of unease nagging at her for the past hour and a half, and she wanted some distraction from it.

Of course, there was always Sain. For four hours while they rode to the shrine.

"And, then, I thrust into his stomach with my lance and–"

"You were using a sword, Sain."

"What? How do you know that?"

"It was yesterday and I was _there_, Sain." Dev suppressed a sigh. She wanted to talk to _Lyn. _She was supposed to be a bloody mastermind, so why couldn't she think of a way to shut him up?

"But you weren't looking!"

"There was never any blood on your lance yesterday. There was blood on your sword. Therefore, you used your sword. Tell it right or don't tell it at all."

Neither option seemed to appeal to Sain. "Well, anyway, I took up my lance–" Ugh. Dev sagged against Kent's armor and sat up poker-straight once more; that metal was pointy! Besides which, sagging upgraded Fidele's trot from 'uncomfortable' to 'torture'. She couldn't take it anymore! She just had to think about something else, that was all.

"–I thrust under his guard! He tried to sidestep, but I was too quick–"

She wasn't that desperate yet, though.

"Kent, please start talking." She felt his body shift; he was probably looking at her.

He almost seemed surprised. "Speak of what?"

"Anything, as long as it's not a detailled and inaccurate account of yesterday's 'glorious and heroic battle.'" Kent looked at Sain. He was still talking, gesturing with a stick to illustrate his words and holding his reins in one hand.

"How about… chess?" Dev looked up at Kent.

"Chess? You want to talk about _chess?" _Kent looked back down at her.

"You are the one who wants to talk," he reminded her. "And I thought you would find it interesting, given your line of work." Dev winced– why had she ever told Lyn strategy was her _job?–_ and returned her gaze to the road in front of her, quickly coming up with a plan to talk to Lyn.

"Could you ride further ahead, Kent? I want to know how much farther we have to go," she bluffed. She _wanted_ to talk to Lyn. She did not want to hear about Sain's heroic lance, or Kent's chess strategies.

"If you wish, Lady Dev," he replied, nudging his horse into a faster trot. That was apparently another way to upgrade the pain factor of the trot. Dev winced unhappily until they reached Lyn. Thunder skipped to the side as they approached, snorting. Lyn checked his movement and smiled at them.

"Dev, Sir Kent, what brings you here?" Dev smiled back and leaned over in the saddle, keeping an eye on Thunder's mouth.

"Lyn, how much farther is the shrine?" she asked, fighting to keep her balance.

"Another half-mile or so. Why, are you that impatient to see the shrine?" Dev shook her head and pointed to Fidele.

"No, although I'm sure your shrine is very nice. I'm uncomfortable. These creatures certainly know how to make humans pay for their services," she replied. "Pegasi are more comfortable." Lyn shrugged.

"I wouldn't know. Maybe if you sat in the seat of the saddle, instead of on the pommel, it would be less jolting." Dev grinned wickedly and gestured to Kent.

"There's a big red knight in the way." She turned around and looked at Kent. He sat up perfectly straight in the saddle, eyes staring at a fixed point over Dev's head, trying to ignore the conversation they were having. It seemed as if he'd thought she had only wanted to know where they were, instead of wanting to have an actual conversation with Lyn. Well…that was his mistake. She and Lyn continued their conversation while Kent sat behind Dev on his horse and stared at the horizon. Sain rode up up beside them and joined in the conversation (without trying to reenact any battles), and soon the three of them were trading stories and jokes easily, as if they'd been on the road together for weeks or months, not mere hours. It was a nice feeling, one which almost enabled Dev to forget even the discomfort of the horse and the uneasiness in her stomach.

The shrine was quickly reached after that. They saw it after what felt like only ten or fifteen minutes, even if it was several hours, and Dev sighed in relief; after this, she could get off the stupid horse for a while. They were nearly there when a middle-aged woman ran up to them.

"Ah! Tell me, are you warriors? Are you heading to the shrine?" Lyn nodded, placing her hand on her sword hilt reflexively. The woman smiled, although her eyes were full of fear and a rising bruise circled her eye. Dev hopped down from Fidele thankfully and gave the woman one of her vulneraries, applying it sparingly to the bruise. They were a bit potent to be using on bruises and she didn't want to cause an allergic reaction around someone's eye. The woman kept speaking as Dev applied the poultice; what was more, she kept moving, which made Dev's task more difficult. Dev would have appreciated it if she'd kept still.

"Bandits have invaded the shrine and kidnapped the priest! They are trying to steal the Mani Katti! Please, you must stop them!" She threw her hands out as she implored them to help, smacking Dev in the nose. It was _not_ appreciated and Dev finished her job happily, heading back to Lyn and speaking to her briefly.

"What do you think, Lyn? We're headed there anyway." _So much for shrines being safe, bandit-less places,_ she thought ruefully, but it was all up to Lyn. What was more, hopefully this had been the source of that nagging discomfort she'd been having. Lyn dismounted from Thunder and unsheathed her iron sword.

"We will drive them out, dead or alive," Lyn said. Sain and Kent nodded; Sain unhooked his lance and Kent loosened his sword in its scabbard. Both looked ready for a fight; so did Lyn.

The woman warned them that the path to the shrine was very rocky and mountainous, and began to tell them about a section of the wall that was in poor repair; Dev nodded and listened, and questioned her on the events in the shrine. There were about four or five of the bandits. Most carried axes, but the leader, well-known in these parts as Glass (apparently because he broke enemy swords as if that was what they were made of) was a swordsman and the one who wanted the Sacaens' holy blade.

Hmm. Sain liked to use his lance, did he? Dev grinned. A wall to break and a swordsman in the shrine. He could use his lance all he wanted. Maybe then he'd shut up.

Dev walked around to the south with Lyn as the knights worked to get the wall to the point where it would crumble at a few hard blows. She wanted to know where this mountain was. If it was too high, they would just have to all go through the wall, which would take a long time and force one person to take the entire brunt of whatever the bandits had on the other side. That person would probably be Sain, too, and as annoying as he was, Dev didn't want him to wind up dead. It was highly preferable to get over the mountain and attack from the front. Assuming they could. They hit rocky terrain and Dev looked around– the corner of the shrine was beside them. So where was this friggin' mountain?

"Dev, aren't you a little high up? It's not safe! Come down, we'll go through the other way," Lyn called up to her. Dev looked behind her and down– Lyn was standing firmly on the grassy part of the ground.

"I'm not that high. It's only…thirty feet," she replied. "It's a little rocky, but I'll be fine. Can't see the mountain, though." Lyn stared at her and something occurred to Dev: Lyn thought _this _was the mountain. What nonsense, this barely qualified as a hill. Then again, considering the general flatness of Sacae, this probably was a mountain to them. This was _very _convenient. Dev smiled and slid down the side of the rock-face, meeting Lyn at the bottom.

"We can get over that, no problem!" she told her excitedly. Lyn eyed the 'mountain' dubiously and Dev ran up about ten feet of the rockface to reassure her. "C'mon, Lyn, you can do it. I'll be right here, and I've been climbing stuff like this since I was four! I won't let you fall!" Lyn stepped up onto a ledge, holding her right arm out for balance. Wary of the blade in her right hand, Dev went up to her from the left and offered a steadying hand. About ten feet from the summit, Dev signalled Lyn to stop, left her on a stable patch of rock that wouldn't tumble down the hillside and take Lyn with it, and crept up to the top, sticking her head over it. There were two bandits guarding the door, and they were playing dice, failing completely to do their job.

Dev withdrew her head and signalled to Kent, waving her staff in the air. Kent riased his sword in response, and Sain readied himself to bash down the wall. When they heard the sound of battle from the inside, they'd rush the enemy from the side as Lyn attacked from the front. Dev didn't like pressuring Lyn that much, but there would be no guiding the horses over the rocks. Dev guided Lyn up the remaining few feet of rock, and Lyn gripped her sword tightly, pale and sweating. Dev watched her, concerned, and readied her own weapon. The bandits would have a distinct advantage here– Lyn's main strength was her agility, and the terrain took it from her. Dev would have to take some of the force of the attack, distract them so Lyn could get in a few hits. She nodded at Lyn and Lyn nodded back, patting her on the shoulder, as if she was the one in need of assistance.

They started down. The bandits noticed them when they were halfway down and came at them, roaring in rage and battle-fury. Dev mimed clumsiness, waiting for them to get close. When they were ten feet away, Dev rushed down, swinging her staff. She caught one on the chin, slid out of the range of the second one's axe, and jumped a small ridge to tangle them up in each other's weapons. One threw a punch at her and she ducked, moving her feet to more stable holds. She heard Lyn yell in surprise and craned her neck to see around the bandit. The other bandit yelled, for the same reason, and the bandit standing in front of Dev flew forward like an arrow from a bow, taking Dev with him. For about twenty seconds, the entire world was yelling, steel, wood, bandit, Lyn, rock, sky and general chaos. There were several sharp cracks in the middle of everything, sharp noises that cut through the tumult like sharpened steel. Then there was silence.

Dev got up from underneath a groaning bandit with some difficulty, clutching at her head, and helped Lyn up after her, then began to hunt for their weapons– neither had managed to keep their hold on them– while Lyn checked the bandits. Dev's staff was about five feet up the hillside– it was scratched and a little nicked (or more so than it had been before), but otherwise fine. Lyn's sword hadn't fared so well. The blade was embedded in a crevice in the rock, the hilt twenty feet away in the grass at the foot of the hill. Dev bit her lip– if Lyn had no weapon, then she wouldn't be attacking any bandits. She went back to Lyn, holding the hilt. Lyn saw it and winced, frowning. She picked it out of Dev's hand and sighed.

"Broken? It's typical, isn't it? Just when I really need a weapon." She tied the hilt to her belt and Dev looked at the bandits, giving Lyn a little quiet. From her reaction to losing the blade, it had been more than just a weapon to her; it had likely been a memento of her family. The bandits themselves were no threat anyway. One lay on the grass, breathing but unconscious, although he'd have a beautiful bump in a few hours. The other hadn't been so lucky– he was equally still, but his eyes were open and fixed, surprise written permanently on his face. A broken neck, maybe, or a head injury. Either way, he was well and truly dead. Dev shuddered. She'd taken some nasty falls down rocky terrain, and picked up some beautiful injuries for it, but it would have been all to easy for her or Lyn to have come out of that tumble just like that bandit.

Lyn tied the other bandit up—the live one—while Dev ran back up the rockface and signalled the knights again. Sain began to bash the wall in, levering the rocks apart with his lance. Kent readied his sword, the accompanying flash of light visible clearly even in the bright sunlight. She went back down to Lyn and peered in through a window in the shrine. The bandits had heard the wall start to give, and two axe-wielders were readying themselves around the cracks that were appearing. Dev considered going in, then decided against it—in a battle, if she wasn't helping, she was an outright nuisance and she knew it. She'd just be another person for them to take care of. They could handle themselves.

Sain proved her right within the minute as his lance appeared, looking almost like a branch of a tree sticking out through the rock. The priest in the corner stared at the damage and the mounted warriors appearing in the gap and moaned, turning his face away. He saw Dev when he did so and gaped in horror. Dev shook her head, motioning for silence. A smile covered his face; he glanced at the head bandit– a swordsman standing on the altar and trying to wrestle a sword from its scabbard, assumedly Glass– and buried his face in his robes, shaking with silent mirth and relief. Thankfully, Glass was too preoccupied with the sword to notice the priest's actions.

Sain pushed his way through the gap, wounding a bandit in the process, and made way for Kent; between them they finished one bandit off fairly quickly. Kent engaged the second axeman as Sain grasped his lance more firmly and kicked his horse up to the last bandit– Glass. Glass had turned at the sound of the wall collapsing, and he met Sain with his own sword, not the still-sheathed Mani Katti. Sain knocked his sword aside, disarming him with a flick of the lance, before thrusting. He missed as Glass pivoted, bringing the Mani Katti around and under Sain's guard, catching him in the side. Sain gasped with the force of the blow, but didn't give way; he raised his lance and thrust, pinning Glass to the floor with his weapon. Glass grasped at the lance with his free hand, his face contorted with pain and disbelief, before his body relaxed against the stone altar, although he still gripped the sword tightly. Sain reached down and removed it from his hand before the body could stiffen and handed it back to the priest, who accepted it gratefully, holding it in extreme reverence.

Dev waved to Lyn and ran inside. Lyn waved back and followed, the bandit tied and gagged behind her in the doorway, joining Dev, her knights and the priest. The priest saw her coming forward and immediately focussed his attention on her, obviously the only Sacaen in the party. The knights moved aside for her and Dev stood in front of the altar, having already paid her respects to the shrine. It had seemed to please the priest, and Dev couldn't really claim any strong beliefs that the altar _wasn't_ deserving of respect. Lyn did the same as Dev had, bowing to the priest deeply before speaking to him. The priest nodded back and addressed them.

"Thank you for rescuing me, and the shrine, all of you. May I know your names?" He acknowledged not only Lyn but Dev, Kent and Sain.

Lyn nodded and introduced them. "Yes. I am Lyn, of the Lorca. My companions are Dev, of Ilia, and Sirs Kent and Sain, of Lycia. He smiled at all of them in greeting before returning his attention to Lyn. "We heard from a woman near here that the shrine was under attack by bandits. We were on our way here, to pray before setting off on a journey we must undertake, and we thought to lend our aid." The priest nodded in the sage manner that all priests seemed to have, smiling still, and extended the Mani Katti, the blade level across his palms, to Lyn.

"Ah, I see. It is good to know that your companions are so accepting of our ways. As my thanks for your brave efforts, I will permit you to lay hands on the Mani Katti, so that you may have good fortune." Lyn gasped, and Dev looked up.

"It that a great honor, then?" she asked, unsure. It wasn't Hanon's bow or anything, although they seemed to set a great deal of importance by the sword. Lyn nodded, obviously excited. Dev looked at the sword itself: it didn't look all that exceptional. The hilt was plain (for Sacae), decorated simply with criss-crossed leather strips designed more than partly to enhance the user's grip on the weapon. It was topped with a plain, wooden pommel, and the cross-guard was similar: well-crafted and functional, a welcome addition to the arsenal of a dedicated warrior, but they were nothing eye-catching. Lyn said a prayer under her breath, and placed her hands on the Mani Katti's sheath.

Light came from the cross-guard, the pommel and the grip; stronger light leaked out of the top of the sheath. Dev stepped forward in curiosity; the knights took an involuntary step backwards or jumped slightly and Kent laid his hand on his sword in case it was a threat. The priest stared in open amazement and reverence and Lyn's hands flew up to her chest.

"It moved," she said. "It moved and it… it glowed." She swallowed nervously. "Is that… What does it mean?" Dev reappraised the sword; it was obviously some sort of magic, if not outright holy. The priest held it up, then held it out to Lyn, offering the hilt.

"The spirits make their will known, Lyn. They have judged you and found you worthy. You are to be the wielder of the Mani Katti." Lyn looked very confused.

"Me? But… I…" The priest smiled kindly, as if he knew what she was thinking.

"Here, Lyn of the Lorca. Take your sword. It is yours rightfully." He held it a little closer to her. "Take it from its sheath. None other than its rightful wielder can." Lyn still looked doubtful, but reached out and grasped the hilt and sheath of the sword. Gripping it firmly, she pulled at the hilt, almost timidly in contrast to her grip.

The blade, shining, fine steel, appeared soundlessly from the sheath. It still glowed faintly, but it was as if it was content now to be less obvious about doing so, now that it had made itself understood. Lyn freed the tip, and stared at it, as dazed as the rest of them.

"It came out," she murmured, "effortlessly." She turned it over in her hands, awe in her eyes and manner. "It's the finest sword I've ever held. I've never seen one better crafted or balanced." Dev inspected it visually: the steel was exceptional, even through the glow. No trace of the smithy could be seen on its surface; the finish on the metal was almost better than the work itself. The work, of course, was purely incredible. A few words of ancient writing or magical runes were engraved and set in silver near the hilt; the point was keen and the steel bright in the sunlight. Dev chanced her finger near the edge, brushing across it to test the sharpness of the edge. She yelped and yanked her finger back, trailing a few drops of blood; the edges hadn't lost their sharpness in the years the sword had spent unused. She nodded wordlessly, still staring and sucking on her finger. A fine sword indeed.

The priest smiled more widely and spoke, his voice tinged with reverence. "Never once did I dare to hope I might meet the wielder of the Mani Katti in my lifetime. Take your sword, Lyn of the Lorca. Take it and do with it as you will." Lyn continued to stare at the sword, almost entranced.

"Yes. This is… my sword. The Mani Katti." Lyn stared at it, still stunned, and slid it back into its sheath. She tied it to her belt and rested her hand on the pommel, looking more like a warrior of Sacae already. Still uncertain, she looked over at Dev, who smiled and nodded encouragingly, feeling, if possible, even sicker than before.

Mystic spirits were never, _ever _a good sign when what you wanted was an uneventful trip. They implied cosmic involvement, and the cosmos rarely picked people out to give them uneventful destinies by throwing them into close involvement with someone wielding a mystic sword. No, that implied an _eventful, _generally uncomfortable destiny, which was the last thing Dev wanted. She had had quite enough of that.

What was worse, she had the feeling it was already too late to escape it: it was a feeling that told her she was in this even deeper than Lyn was.

………

They spent the next day walking towards the Sacaen border with Bern. They made good time, all of them having rested in the small town near the shrine, and they were refreshed and ready for a few more days of travelling. After a few hours, though, the ground began to become steadily more rocky, and eventually they had to abandon the thought of riding any further and lead the horses on foot instead. The horses didn't like the rocky ground at all, and Lyn wasn't much more enthusiastic. Sain didn't seem very daunted—Dev wondered what _could_ daunt him—and Kent showed little reaction at all to the change in circumstances, continuing on as ordered like a true knight. Dev herself didn't mind the rocky ground at all.

It was Lyn who couldn't stand it, and it was all Dev could do to stop her from bolting down the mountain. (The knights were no help.) She knew, though, that eventually Lyn wouldn't be able to take the mountains anymore and they'd be back to travelling on the plains. They were too open for Dev's liking: this was an area that bandits preyed on, from the burning heaps of wood and charred stone they saw every so often, and the mountains offered more opportunity for cover. Lyn seemed to understand this too, and withstood the mountains for as long as she could, but on the third day of travel, she finally announced she couldn't take it anymore. Dev, Sain and Kent respected her wishes and they all came down off the mountain, crossing back onto the plains. There were houses, though, and a road now, making Dev think they'd passed into the remote corner of Bern separating the mountain range from Sacae. There was even evidence of a village to the west.

It was actually lucky they'd come down where they had: otherwise, Sain would not have found the feather. He picked it up on their way down when it caught his eye and, typically, stuck it in his headband, asking Dev immediately if she thought it was dashing or not (he'd already learned that Lyn didn't welcome such inquiries). Dev stifled a giggle—he looked _something_, that was sure, but 'dashing' just wasn't the word for it—then noticed an oddness about the feather. It didn't look like a bird's. She reached out and plucked it from his head, ignoring his protests, and examined it closely.

It was a pegasus feather—a bright white one. That was odd, she thought, trotting down the slope to show Lyn her find. It wasn't that the feather had fallen: pegasi normally moulted at around this time of year, in the late spring when the Ilian weather finally warmed. What was odd was that it had fallen here. This was a Bernese mountain, not an Ilian one, and Bern and Ilia weren't on the best of terms. It could always be from a mercenary, but still, Dev wanted to know about this.

"Lyn," she called when she was close enough. "Look what was on the ground. A pegasus feather." Lyn turned and looked at the feather a little blankly. "Do they normally fly here, do you know?" Lyn shook her head.

"We rarely see pegasi in Sacae, although they do go over the plains as a shortcut to Lycia sometimes. I have a friend who is a pegasus knight as well." Dev raised her eyebrows.

"Really? How'd you meet?" Lyn smiled.

"She crash-landed in the middle of our camp about two years ago," she told Dev. Dev laughed involuntarily before she managed to look serious and worried.

"Was she hurt? I mean, before she fell." Lyn shook her head, grinning.

"No, she just crashed. It was windy, I suppose, and she did say that the pegasus wasn't feeling well. Still, it was quite alarming. She had to remain with us for a few weeks while the pegasus' wing healed, and that was when we became friends."

"Kind of you, to help her like that. It would have been a lonely few weeks otherwise, I can imagine." Dev was still listening to Lyn, but now she was also watching the skies. There was an unusually bright patch of white in one of the clouds, and it kept moving. Feathers had to come from somewhere.

"It wasn't as if we could abandon her. She was a little shy at fir—well, she was always a little shy, but she did her best to help while she was with us." She clung to Dev's arm while she negotiated a particularly slippery part of the slope. "Is that a village down there?" she asked. Dev followed her gaze and frowned.

"Looks like one, but there's something wrong with it." She hesitated, knowing how bandit-ridden this area was, before simply saying nothing at all. It looked more like a burned-out shell of a village than an actual one, even if there were a few standing houses. Lyn seemed to think so too: she loosened her sword in its scabbard once she had a firm enough footing to let go of Dev's arm.

At the bottom, Lyn let go of Dev's arm, and Dev rolled back her sleeve to inspect the skin, convinced it was the colour of the night sky with bruising, and jumped nearly a foot into the air when Lyn called out.

"Dev! Look," she yelled. "Up there, a pegasus!" Dev followed her gaze and saw it, coming downwards to land. It spiralled down slowly, and eventually lit in the town. "I wonder if it's—"

"Your friend?" Dev guessed. "What's she look like?"

"Small, with light-purple hair. She's shy, too, especially around men." Dev considered it. If it was Lyn's friend, then the odds were that she needed help. If it wasn't, then it was a pegasus knight—who'd know where they were and be able to point them in the right direction. Either way, it would be a good idea to get down there as quickly as possible, to give aid before too bad a thing happened, or receive it before the knight flew off. Lyn led the way, running towards the town with Dev close behind. They left the knights to figure it out for themselves, and hoofbeats followed them not too long afterwards, once the knights had safely negotiated the rocky ground.

Coming into the town, which was indeed a burned-out wreck with a few, small, walled-off sections containing the only standing houses, they heard voices. There were three, two those of angry men, the other female and barely audible. Lyn frowned. "It's my friend. The others are bandits." Dev looked up at Lyn—her face was livid with rage.

"Lyn—Lyn, wait! Come back, wait for the knights!" It was no use: Lyn was already talking to the bandits. Dev looked back at the knights: their horses were catching up quickly, but they were still a long way off. Swallowing her fear, she ran out after Lyn. The bandits, big, muscular, axe-wielders, were trying to get through Lyn to a small, trembling pegaus knight who was explaining something to Lyn. Through this, the bandits shouted, mostly to the tune of 'hand her over.' Lyn's answers seemed to be along the lines of 'boil your heads.' The only place this could go was a bad one.

"Lyn, what are you planning to do?" she asked.

"I am trying to persuade them to leave Florina alone."

"She landed on me!"

Dev grimaced. "What if they don't oblige?"

"Hand her over, and her flying mule too!"

"P-please don't let them hurt Huey," Florina begged nearly inaudiably of Dev.

"Don't worry," Dev told her. "I won't let them touch a single feather."

"If they don't leave, I suppose I'll have to fight them."

The lead bandit laughed, a sound that made Dev grit her teeth. "Fight! Hah! We'll take you on, girlies. We'll take you on, knock you out, and show you some proper Ganelon hospitality!" The other bandit laughed with him, and Dev moved her staff into a defensive stance as subtly as possible. Florina stared at them with wide eyes, but clutched at her lance and laid a hand on Huey's neck. Lyn laid her hand on her sword.

"You will do no such thing. If we fight, I, and my friends, will continue on our way, and _you _shall never again leave this place." The bandit sneered at her.

"Think a lot of yourself, don't'cha?" he asked, looking behing them as hoofbeats signalled the arrival of one of the knights. "Another friend of yours? You're still outnumbered!" At his shout, bandits appeared from behind nearly every nearby building and wall. Most were axe-wielders, although there were a few swordsmen and an archer among them. Dev frowned. There were indeed a lot of them. She looked behind her, and saw Sain, gripping his lance in one hand, eyes flicking from bandit to bandit, being nearly serious for once.

The bandit was giving orders now as he moved to the back of the impending battle, telling his comrades to 'kill the knight, but don't hurt the girlies.' Dev shuddered.

"Where's Kent?" she whispered.

……………………….

Kent was in the nearest village, still atop his horse in the gutted remains of the town hall. Several youths of the town and the town elder, as well as curious onlookers, were there with him.

"We thank you for the warning, but we have few fighters among us," the elder told him. "These would like to imagine that they are mighty warriors, but they are only youths. I cannot allow them to go, and be killed in the going." Kent nodded. "I think, though, that this one would like to help you, as much as he can. He is a traveller, and he has been with us for a week now." The elder smiled. A brown-haired man, not much older than the 'youths', stepped forward from the crowd and nodded to Kent.

"My name is Wil, sir knight. I'm an archer. I'd like to repay you, and also these villagers. They've been kind to me, and, you see, I've no coin. So, I offer you my bow, to drive the bandits off." Kent nodded.

"I'm sure we can find a use for it," Kent replied. "Up behind me, Wil: we have need of haste." Wil nodded and swung into the saddle, and Kent spurred Fidele on, back towards Lyndis.

They were already shouting, and he heard the ring and clash of metal on metal. He hoped he wasn't needed too badly there.

……………………….

There were too many. It was obvious to all of them, not just Dev. Sain got rid of a swordsman before turning his own blade on an axeman, Florina fended off one of the weedier bandits with unpractised jabs of her lance, and Lyn and Dev held their own back to back, Lyn skewering any bandit foolish enough to give her an opportunity, and Dev simply parrying any strokes aimed at her as they came.

It couldn't last. Sooner or later, one of them would fall. Dev, Lyn and Florina were only being targeted with intent to incapacitate, however, while Sain was fighting for his life. Other than the axeman he was actually facing, three more were taking swipes at him. Eventually, one of them would get lucky. Then the three 'girlies' would really be in for it.

Huey's whinny was all that saved Dev from one bandit's downswing. He was a better aim than the rest, and trickier too: his attack had separated her from Lyn. The nomad whirled around to check on her, but the bandits quickly recaptured her attention, and Dev was left to deal with the new bandit. He was big, over a foot taller than Dev and broad as well, and well-muscled. His eyes were calm and solemn, his red hair cut close to his scalp. The clothes he wore were simple, but not the filthy rags of a bandit, more the simple clothes of a peasant.

All in all, he did not seem that much like a bandit, except for his annoying persistence in trying to hit her with his axe. She decided to see if he couldn't be persuaded that that was a silly thing to do.

"Hey. You, bandit." His eyes flicked up to her briefly, but she received no response other than another swipe from the axe. She tried again. "Bandit." He glanced at her again, this time with a slight frown. "You don't like being called that," she said.

"Stand still," he told her. He had a Bernese accent.

"Why, to save you time? Or so you can have the pleasure of taking down someone who isn't trying to escape at all? Someone who, for any purposes, is completely defenceless?" He actually flinched, and she pressed the point, sidestepping his axe. "Do you know what they'll do to me after you do that? After I wake up, of course. And after they've gotten good and drunk." She aimed a kick at his leg, forcing him back slightly. His heart hadn't been in his task at the start, and it was falling further and further behind them. "I'm not looking forward to that. Neither are my friends."

"Would you prefer I killed you?" Sweet Elimine, it was an honest question. She pretended to think, and hopped up onto a boulder: it was a good big one, putting her nearly out of his reach.

"No, actually. And I'd also prefer you didn't hurt my friends either." He scowled. Dev looked over his head at the battle: Kent was back. He'd brought an archer, too, and they were making a good attempt at driving the bandits back. They were fine, or they would be in a minute. She turned her attention back to the bandit in front of her. "If you're so reluctant to fight, then why are you a bandit?" He swung at her again. "Aaa! What harm will it do to tell me?!"

"My resolve will weaken." He tried to climb up onto the boulder beside her, and she prodded him back with her staff. That wouldn't work forever, though.

"So, you've got to get something done, and _this_ is the only way?" She poked him back again. "Is it revenge you're after or gold?" He was silent, and she repeated the question several times, each time more loudly, until he relented.

"Gold," he grunted, as if wishing that would be the last question.

"Huh. What for? To feed your starving family? No? Let's see… to pay a debt, then? Or to buy something someone needs?"

"Medicine," he told her, jumping up again. This time, getting him off the boulder required an outright whack. "For my wife. Will you get down?" he added, exasperation in his voice. Dev shook her head, moving back on the boulder slightly.

"Oh? Let's see, whose plight do I care more about, mine or your wife's? Hmmm, now that's a surprise, it's mine. Hey, get off!" He'd succeeded in getting up on the boulder and was trying to get into a decent position to hit her with the axe. "What's wrong with her, anyway? Is it really so bad you're willing to kill people to fix it? Is she dying? There are clerics and hospitals to take care of sick people! Why not ask them?"

"The clerics can't fix it. It's not an illness. Her leg is bad, and it always has been. It pains her. I need to get gold, to—" A patch of green was rapidly approaching the boulder now, brandishing a lance and looking what it undoubtedly thought was heroic. _It would be him, _Dev thought.

"—Get medicine and fix the leg, alright, I see. Is it worth it if the money belongs to villagers, who need it to buy food to survive on? Is it worth it if you take it from the corpses of innocents?" The bandit glared at her, then lowered his axe. She stood up as tall as possible and crossed her arms, staring at him.

"No. No, you're right."

"So, I've persuaded you of the error of your ways?" He shook his head.

"No. You were just… harder to ignore, I'll say, than my own conscience. You wouldn't let me tune you out." He got down off the boulder, and offered her his hand. She vaulted down with her staff, not wanting to seem like a helpless maiden. Ilians did not need help getting down off of river pebbles like that. He grimaced and she realised she'd subtly insulted him by refusing his help. She apologised, but he seemed to accept it: he shook his head and turned back, looking over at the battle.

Lyn and the other three were quickly surrounding the remaining bandits. Kent and Lyn were taking the brunt of the attack, while the archer and Florina hung back, provding support. It was too bad Florina didn't have a javelin. Dev started back over to them, when a surprised yell from the odd bandit made her turn around: Sain was attacking him.

He was using his goddamn lance again. Dorcas had managed to trap the head in the ground with his axe, and was now looking at Dev in confusion. She shook her head at both of them.

"He's alright. Put that thing away. Where's Lyn?" Sain towards what seemed like half a village surrounded by the remains of one, and tugged on his lance to remove it from the dirt, cleaning the blade before re-strapping it to his saddle. For once, Dev took his offer of a ride, hoping fervently he wouldn't take it as permission to keep shadowing her, or regaling her with his re-enactments of battles. A person could really only take so much of that.

………………..

They arrived at the village as Lyn finished speaking to the village elder. She ran over to Dev and pulled her down off the horse, hugging her tightly. Dev endured this for an entire minute before easing herself out of Lyn's grasp.

"I thought you were dead when that bandit went after you!" she half-yelled, refusing to let go. "Stay near me, will you? Don't leave my side during fights. You'll get yourself killed." Dev smiled, trying to convince Lyn she was fine.

"Don't worry. I didn't have you around for eighteen years before this, and I'm not dead yet. The bandit didn't touch me once, see? Nothing's wrong with me."

"That wasn't wrong already," Lyn retorted, before introducing her to the village elder and Wil.

"Wil was a great asset in the battle," Kent added. "He saved _someone_—" he glared at his partner as he continued—"from getting his head chopped off. I won't say who," he added curtly.

"No, but you'll imply it really transparently," Dev told him, before greeting the elder.

"I was thanking your friend for her help. This area is rife with bandits and we do not have the manpower to hold them off." Lyn frowned.

"Why don't you ask your marquess for men and help?" she asked. Kent frowned and Wil replied:

"Well, we're in Bern, so it's not a marquess, but he probably has other places to send those men. This is…a very, ah, remote region," he said, trailing off uncomfortably as the elder spat on the ground. Lyn looked at Dev quizzically.

"That means their lord and master doesn't give a rat's ass whether they're alive or dead, as long as they pay their taxes."

"If he could find them on our dead bodies and in our burnt-out homes, he wouldn't care even then," the elder agreed. "We can neither expect nor hope for any help from that quarter. That is why we are so grateful to you."

Someone knocked on the door, and one of the villagers opened it. Someone entered and Florina practically flew to Lyn's side. The villagers seemed surprised to see the newcomer, and Lyn and Dev turned around to see.

It was the bandit. Dev quickly stepped between him and Lyn. "Ah, it's you. Why are you here?" He glanced around the hall, seeming embarrassed at all the people there, then took his axe out of the holder on his back. Lyn had her sword out of the scabbard and ready to chop off his head by the time he pointed the handle at Dev. She nudged it away, to point at the elder of the village. He returned it to is former position. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I owe you a debt. I want to repay it. Please let me accompany you." Dev shook her head.

"What? No, you have to ask Lyn—"

Lyn grimaced. "Well, we're in a complicated situation, you see. I don't want to involve anyone if I don't need to." He shook his head.

"I want to help you. I care not about the danger involved." Lyn bit her lip and exchanged a look with Dev. Dev shrugged.

"We could use an axeman, Lyn. And the more people we have the better." Lyn considered this, and nodded.

"Alright, sir, if you are so determined, you may come with us. May I ask your name?"

"I am Dorcas. Thank you." Florina stopped staring at him in fear and tugged at Lyn's sleeve.

"Florina," Lyn asked, "what is it?"

"Well, Lyn, I- that is, if you're travelling with a band of warriors, I wondered if- can I-"

"You're looking for a troop of mercenaries to join up with, aren't you?" Dev asked. "For your training." Florina nodded. Lyn frowned.

"But Florina, aren't mercenary bands large groups of men?" Florina squeaked and Lyn continued. "I can't see you being at all comfortable around them."

"I thought I would- would get over it," she replied, not sounding as if she really did. Lyn shrugged at Dev.

"Well, I don't know if we count as mercenaries, but you can come if you want, Florina. You don't have to be scared." Florina smiled at Lyn, and after a moment of courage-gathering, at Dev, and she even managed one for Kent, until his stern expression made her smile fade.

Sain took it upon himself to welcome Florina to their group. "Of course you can come, lady Florina! Why, with the additions of Sir Dorcas and the gallant Wil here, we are a fine troop of mercenaries to help you hone your skills as a knight! I myself will watch over you and guide your learning as you enter our esteemed order of—ah! Why do you run from me?"

Wil stared at him in disbelief, (then something approaching shock as Sain was accosted by Lyn and Kent), before asking Dev, "Did he just include me as part of your troop?"

"He does weird things sometimes. You can come if you want, of course. It's not as if our ranks are closed off. Just make your cutest kicked-puppy-dog face and you'll get in." His eyebrows rose and he smiled a little.

"Heh. You mean it? I don't have any gold, you see, and I'm at a bit of a crossroads now—" he frowned slightly, as if his options didn't appeal to him. "I don't want to be a burden to you." Dev shook her head.

"Nah. We're doing alright for gold. Lyn's the heir of House Caelin, in Lycia, you see." Now Wil was properly surprised.

"Really? Wow, travelling with nobility. You wouldn't think she was Lycian to look at her, but I guess that explains why those knights are following her."

"Yeah, that's why. Of course, there's a little inheritance dispute and her grand-uncle's trying to kill her, but we'll clear that up," she told him, wanting him to know what he was in for. Wil shrugged.

"No trouble at all for Lyndis' Legion, I suppose," he replied, twirling an arrow between his fingers and checking the shaft. "Glad to be coming along!" He began to talk to Kent, leaving Dev with a sick feeling in her stomach, one that only got worse when Lyn appeared at her shoulder.

"Did he call us 'Lyndis' Legion'?" she asked, sounding about as happy over the new name as Dev was. Dev nodded. "We're not a legion, are we?"

"No," Dev told her. " No, legions have loads of soldiers in them. We have six plus me. We're no legion."

"It just starts with 'L'." Dev nodded. Lyn was silent for a moment before adding, "This has gotten out of hand, hasn't it?"

Dev grimaced, which was all the answer Lyn seemed to need.

_Next stop, Lycia._

……………………………

Err... sorry? I know this took forever. The good news is that I have a new computer now, and a decent internet connection (not GOOD, the west of Ireland doesn't do GOOD, but decent) and updates will be far, far more frequent Okay? Forgive me? It's nice and long, though: that's got to be a good thing.

Alright, stupid ranting aside, I do have some things to say. A: I made a couple of mistakes earlier on. I'd forgotten that only girls could ride pegasi, and I implied that Barigan's steed was a pegasus. I only implied it, though, so I think it's alright. Also, I was unaware that Hanon was a woman, having not played FE6. I found that out. Again, I'm a fool. Hey…maybe she was riding the pegasus. No. Stupid idea. Forget that.

And about the little highly-convenient-and-unbelievable way that I had Lyn and Dev take out the bandits outside the shrine… well, I had to make Lyn take the stupid sword _somehow, _and after making such a big deal about how clumsy she was on the rocky terrain, I couldn't very well have her whup both of them like she was doing before. Keep in mind also that that they're on a grand and fateful quest (even if they don't know it and it won't really start properly for another year) outside a sacred shrine that houses a magic sword protected by mystic spirits that Lyn is destined to have. It was _obviously _an act of god.

…That's all the excuse you're getting, people. And Dorcas joining this chapter is, being totally honest, intended to cut the amount of chapter-writing I have to do. Heheh. Sorry!


	4. The Lycian Border

**CH 4:**

**The Lycian Border**

"Ah, Lycia! I see her just ahead, past that hill. My heart soars at the thought of returning home!"

Wil looked over at Sain and sighed. "You know, I'm beginning to suspect he's always like this."

"You don't have to ride with him," Dev told him. Kent was scouting the terrain, determined to find them a place to rest for the night. Some instinct told Dev that this had something to do with Sain, but it couldn't articulate itself clearly through the ringing in her ears. "Why are you here, Wil?"

"Kent came back. He was in a fight. Lyn wants y--" Wil dove to the ground, biting off his sentence (and very nearly his tongue) as Sain whirled his steed around to face him.

"The enemy? Here? We must face them!" He unhooked his lance and brandished it in the air. "Come on, Wil! Get on behind me We'll teach them what Lycian steel tastes like!"

"Sain, I'm back here," Dev said, as Wil spat dirt out of his mouth. "There's no room on the horse for Wil. Besides, we need to go talk to Lyn and Kent and find out exactly where this enemy is. _Then_ we will fight them."

"If we have to, right?" Wil asked, picking himself up.

Dev shrugged behind Sain's back. "Don't ruin his good mood, Wil."

All the same, she agreed heartily.

...

"The same bandits as before. huh? Ganelon." Dev frowned. "They're obviously after us, but once we cross the border, we should be fine. Can't we just evade them?"

Kent shook his head, dashing her hopes. "No. They're too determined. Our only option is to meet them in the field." Dev groaned. _Too many battles. Why can't the Ganelon just give in? _She shook her head and focused, pushing her reluctance to the back of her mind, where it belonged. Giving in to it now was a death warrant for those under her command.

_Time to fight._

"Kent."

"Yes?"

"What are their positions?"

...

"ERK!! ...ERRRRK! Listen to me when I speak to you!" Serra pouted for a few moments, before having a different idea. "Or-- no, you must simply be too dazzled by my beauty to understand me. That's it, isn't it? The sound of my voice must be as a flock of angels in chorus to you..."

"Host," Erk murmured to himself, his mind on the in map in front of him. Serra's voice was quickly joining birdsong and wind in the list of noises his brain unconsciously tuned out. His eardrums were not so lucky, however, and he couldn't ignore her forever. If only this damn map made sense! Whoever had made it was as skilled a cartographer as Erk himself was a womanizer. Not that he wanted to be, especially considering the present company.

Serra appeared in front of him. Speak of the devil.

"What did you say, Erky?" He shuddered involuntarily and quickly blamed it on a passing breeze.

"Serra," he asked, ignoring her question, "how certain are you, exactly, of this particular route to Ostia?" It was the wrong thing to say. Serra glared at him and exploded in a fit of pretended rage.

"How dare you suggest that I could have been wrong! Erk, you really should learn to respect your better--" She stopped as a thought hit her. Erk almost fancied he could see it, pummeling its way through her skull. _Just a silly fantasy..._

"Erky, does this... mean... that we are lost?"

_No, they've redesigned the Ostian town square while you were away. Do you like it? _"Yes, Serra, I believe we are."

"Ooooh, we're _lost!_ This makes me so mad!--"

Erk sighed and rubbed his temples. "You told me you were certain this was the correct path." Serra whirled on him and narrowed her eyes.

"What are you trying to say?" She looked quite like a demon when she did that. She also sounded like one. "Well?" There was something in that, actually. A demon disguising itself as a member of the clergy was quite plausible. Imagine the horrors they could achieve--

"WELL?" Nope, never mind. He had no need to imagine.

"I swear, you are _not_ the woman I agreed to escort." Her mouth dropped open in shock.

"And that! What's that supposed to mean?"

"I heard someone was needed to escort a frail Lycian _princess_ to Ostia--"

"Yes, and that is me! I'm that princess!" Erk resisted the temptation to snort. He owed his teacher far better than behavior of that sort. It wouldn't improve things anyway.

"Frail? You?" He shook his head and pointed the rolled-up map at her. "Serra, this is the truth. You have no need of any escort to protect you. Even the most hardened criminal would flee in terror after five minutes in your presence." He unhooked his money-pouch. "I'll return you money. _Gladly. _Now, will you please go on to Ostia _alone?" _

Serra squealed in dismay and stamped a foot. "Nooooo! You're my escort, Erk! Mine! You're so clean and tidy!" Her shouting stopped abruptly and she regarded him thoughtfully. "Your personality's not much, but you're not bad to look at."

_You stole my line, I believe._ She was already flouncing off. Erk ran his fingers through his hair and followed after her. No amount of money was worth this.

It wasn't long before he caught up with her. She was standing on top of a ridge, watching something with avid interest. Erk joined her at the top of the ridge, just soon enough to see what was going on. What looked like a small, motley group of mercenaries was fighting a large force of bandits. Serra spotted him next to her and squealed, very loudly, before he could shut her up, "Erky, look! A battle! Who do you think is winning?"

"Serra!_" _Who cared!? "Get down and be quiet for once! Don't let them--" Branches cracked behind them; one of the bandits had found them. He saw them and snarled.

"You're not Ganelon! You with that she-devil and her pack of curs?" He lifted his axe, swinging it with little skill, but obvious strength. "Prepare to die!"

Serra screamed, ducked behind Erk, and kept on screaming, loud enough to wake the dead and send them running to Hades of their own free will, just to get away from her. "Erk! Eeeerk! Save me!"

"Aaagh... must you be so loud?" Erk asked, taking out his Fire tome, banishing Serra from his mind as he concentrated on his spells. "You! See if you can match me!" he challenged the bandit, already calling forth flame to roast him.

...

"Take that!" Wil yelled, triumphant, as a bandit fell with an arrow in his eye, caught totally unaware. Dev, beside him, scanned the countryside before her.

"Nice one, Wil," she told him, but it was little more than a mumble. Her mind was elsewhere. She watched for more bandits appearing, shouted orders to those around her, and, every now and then, pointed out a specific enemy for Wil to shoot, usually one creeping up on Florina or the ever-inattentive Sain.

After felling another enemy with his arrows, Wil stood back and surveyed the carnage. "It's not going too badly, is it?"

Dev was about to reply when flames exploded on the side of a hill, quickly followed by two figures running down the hillside for all they were worth. One--a cleric--kept seeming to want to stop and look at things, but was always pulled onward by a red-cloaked mage.

"D'you think they caused that?" Dev chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'd say they did. Impressive, isn't it?" Wil shrugged.

"If you like fireballs." He raised his bow, his hand going to his quiver. "I can hit them from here."

Dev laid a hand on his bow-arm, forcing it down. "Wil, from what you know of these bandits, would you say they have many female clerics in their ranks? Ah, you see? Following them down the hill?" He nocked his arrow as Dev signaled 'likely allies' to Lyn.

"Got him." He let the arrow fly.

...

"Come on, Serra, move!" Erk leapt over a rock in his path, dragging Serra along behind him the whole time. His Fire spell was still in the front of his mind, but he didn't want that bandit getting within range. All the same, it looked as if he was. Erk drew in a breath, ready to release another gout of flame into the bandit's face.

Before he could, an arrow appeared in his throat, closely followed by another. Blood spurted out of the wound, spraying over Erk's face and cloak. He swallowed hard. Serra jumped and screamed, dashing behind Erk again. He tugged his cloak out of her hands and looked around for the archer.

He was easy to spot, a brown-haired man standing on a hill, shooting whatever bandits came within range of his bow. He waved to Erk, a damnable grin on his face, and pointed to Erk's right. A woman with a long, green ponytail, and wearing Sacaen garb, was climbing the ridge toward him. Behind her walked a Lycian knight in red armor, his hand on the pommel of his sword. Both were spattered with blood; neither seemed badly injured. Erk stood up a little straighter.

"Let go!" he whispered. "And stand up." Serra peeked around him and saw the two figures approaching. The green-haired woman stopped five paces away and greeted him.

"Were you attacked?" she asked him, concerned. Erk nodded, still out of breath. She frowned. "Ah. I'm sorry about that. They're after us, you see. I didn't mean to involve anyone else." Erk was shaking his head, about to reply, when Serra abruptly recovered.

"Well, that simply won't do! It's your fault we're caught up in this mess, now, is it? Then you'll just have to protect me until those bandits are dealt with. Don't you think?" The woman looked somewhat taken aback by Serra. Erk put his fingers to his temples. Sometimes it felt like they were glued there.

"Serra, I think we have bothered these people enough--"

"What do you mean, Erky? This is THEIR fault!" He sighed, and attempted to reason with her.

"No, Serra, you attracted their attention--"

"And they will have to make up for causing me such distress!"

"You are a cleric of St. Elimine, are you not?" the knight asked, holding up a hand. Serra drew herself up and looked, well, like herself, really. There wasn't any other comparison.

"Yes, I am. I can heal, too! Watch!" She brandished her staff at Erk. He felt the aches in his muscles and the burn on his cheek quickly subside. Why hadn't she done that earlier?

The knight and the Sacaen traded glances. "We'd be glad to protect you, lady Serra," the knight told them. "We would be honored, also, if you graced us with the aid of your holy staff." Serra nodded.

"Well, of course you would! I'll fix everyone up, good as new!" She turned around, seeming to remember Erk. "Oh, and this is Erk. He's a mage, and my escort. Erky, go burn up some bandits, will you? We're going to help these people." The Sacaen shook her head slightly, but nodded in his direction.

"Well met, Erk. I am Lyn, of the Lorca and-- Caelin. This is Sir Kent, a knight of Caelin." Kent nodded at him, and Erk returned their greeting. Serra shooed him off, as Kent pointed to the ridge where the archer was skewering bandits.

"See the girl, in a green cloak?" he asked. Erk nodded. "That's our tactician. Ask her what to do." Erk nodded. He could hear her bellowing at someone called Sain, referring to a god-forsaken blasted lance and his thick skull. As he watched, she picked up a rock and threw it in the direction of a green-clad knight. It fell far short, landing only about ten feet away from her.

"Don't judge her over-hastily," the knight told him. Erk chuckled. She didn't look like much, but, then, neither did Serra.

...

He could only hope this would be a more pleasant experience.

"Hey, Erk!" It was indeed. The tactician greeted him with a grin and a handshake, introducing herself as Dev. Odd name, but he couldn't judge. She asked how far he could throw fire before telling him to guard the pegasus rider, Florina, warning him that she was nervous around men. "You're so soft-spoken, though, she might not have too much of a problem," she mused, pausing every now and then to mark out bandits for death by shooting. She told him, briefly, who was on their side, before waving him off and turning her attention back to the archer and the battlefield.

Florina was, indeed, incredibly shy, but after about fifteen minutes of fighting, she calmed down enough to stop squealing whenever he moved, and even relaxed enough to shout a warning hen a bandit snuck up on him. Their arrangement was simple: Erk threw fireballs at any bandits that appeared, and Florina skewered them with her lance.

It wasn't long at all before the scents of blood and charred flesh made them abandon their post. There wasn't time enough to move the bodies, so what remained once the fires guttered out was left where it fell, or continued to smolder, emitting choking, retch-inducing smoke.

Luckily, by that time, the rest of the army was moving on, too, although neither would have given a damn if they had all been gathering in that charred little clearing; they would have left it anyway. They were both tired and sick to their stomachs, not in the best mood for being attentive. Dev's shout was the only warning they got.

"Florina! Erk! Turn around!" Florina let out a little scream and kicked her pegasus around; Erk spun on his heel while trying to avoid the pegasus's wings. He cursed his stupidity as he pulled out his fire tome. His first bolt of flame went astray, and the bandit rushed in close. Erk pivoted on the ball of his foot, barely evading the man's sword. He threw another bolt of flame,which died on the bandit's shield.

Erk saw Florina to his right, and sidestepped another lunge of the sword. He moved left, trying to trap the bandit between himself and Florina. One of Wil's arrows appeared in the bandit's shield arm. He grunted with pain, yanking the arrow out.

"Both of you! Now!" That tactician had lungs, anyway. Erk called a flame into existence and hurled it at the bandit just as Florina pierced his torso with her lance. He screamed, making all the hair at the back of Erk's neck stand on end, then fell off Florina's lance and onto the ground, blood leaking sluggishly out of the hole in his torso. Erk let his breath out-- he hadn't been aware he'd been holding it.

"That was sick," he murmured. Florina, wiping her lance with trembling hands, nodded.

"Yes." She agreed with him, an Ilian knight? Maybe she was new. He shook his head to clear it, and started running to catch up. Hoofbeats behind him announced Florina was following.

...

"Kent?" The knight turned to face Dev and stood to attention.

"Yes, Lady Dev?"

"Don't call me that. and don't stand like that, either. Relax, please." He stood in the way described as 'at ease' by knights. _Word not found? Relax, _she thought. _Means 'take it easy.' _"Why are you just standing here? There's the leader."

"Yes, l--, ah, Dev. How do we proceed?" Dev looked around their small group and frowned. Erk and Florina looked ready to throw up. Wil had three arrows left. Sain was being healed by Serra (what a _nut!_) and Lyn was applying a poultice to her left arm.

"Um, okay, Kent, Dorcas, go attack him, Sain, Lyn, don't let anyone attack them from behind. Serra, help anyone who needs it but don't get yourself killed--" (Dev became dimly aware here that Serra began talking, but it hadn't taken long to learn that little of what she said was relevant and even less was useful.) "--and Erk, Wil and Florina, conserve yourselves and your weapons, but stand by just in case." That was everyone, right? She made sure nobody was at a loose end, then crouched down on a rock to watch the fight.

Oh hell, this one was actually a skilled fighter, with a real axe, made of good steel, and he was bigger than Dorcas. Kent came in on the man's right, Dorcas on his left. Sain and Lyn were behind them, distracting him with feints and jabs of their weapons, forcing him to divide his attention four ways. The two knights, especially, worked well together. Every time Kent stepped back, Sain was there; Kent often concealed Sain's intentions until the last moment, and the bandit was covered in bruises, cuts and blood from the two knights' efforts. Often one would trap his weapon for the other to rush in and attack.

Lyn and Dorcas did not work so well together. In fact, they managed to hurt each other more than they did the bandit, although thankfully none of their injuries were much worse than a bruise. It was clear that each was far more used to fighting alone.

"Get out of each others' way!" she yelled down at them, but she doubted they'd heard. She pointed at Erk, telling him to cover her, and started towards them. She could hear the mage's harsh breathing as he followed at a trot. Bloody mages had no stamina whatsoever.

Reaching Lyn and Dorcas, she shouted at them again. When they didn't hear her, she thrust her staff between them.

"Get out of each other's way! Look at the knights! Look how they fight!" Lyn and Dorcas both looked at her like she was insane for a moment before they took the advice. They didn't really manage to follow the knight's example, but they stopped stabbing each other. That was good enough for Dev, and she jumped back just as an over-eager swing caught her on the arm, breaking the skin. Blood leaked out, but not quickly, and Dev figured it wasn't serious.

"Erk?" she murmured, stepping back and squeezing the wound as tightly as she could.

"Huh?" He was doubled over, panting for breath.

"Any more magic in you?" He nodded and straightened, whispering the words to a spell. She held out a hand, telling him to wait.

"Ready," she cautioned, "wait for it." He nodded, his eyes far-off, concentrating on his magic. Their view of the bandit was blocked, but sooner or later an opening would come, especially considering Lyn and Dorcas's lack of cohesion.

The bandit swiped at them both with his axe, forcing them back to avoid the sweeping cut. Dev dropped her hand swiftly, in a cutting motion. " 'Ware!" she shouted, as Erk let a bolt of flame loose. It leapt to the bandit and caught on his clothes. He dropped his axe and slapped his clothes, trying to extinguish the flames. It was only another second before Dorcas's axe broke his neck. He fell to the ground, stiff, as the fire consumed what was left of him.

Lyn wrinkled her nose and backed away from the corpse. Dev agreed with her; the scent of burning flesh was almost too much to bear. Blood was one thing; this went a long way towards explaining the animosity warriors held towards mages. Erk had already turned around and was heading back towards the others. Dev followed him, holding her arm again, waving for the four warriors to do the same.

Serra was already talking to Erk when she got there. "Good boy, Erky. See, that wasn't so bad. You've done a wonderful job of dealing with those smelly bandits." Erk was looking at Serra as if he wanted to see her inside out. Dev was about to ask if Serra could heal her when Sain saw the wound.

"Ah, Lady Dev!" She pulled her cloak over her arm. Too late. "Delicate flower, you are injured!"

"It's a scratch, all it needs is a vulnerary, or some attention from Serra. Sain, I'm sure you've seen far worse--"

"But you need to be more careful! It could be infected! You could catch a disease!" Lyn and Kent had come up now. Dev made a mental note to kill Sain.

"As much as I hate to admit it, my partner is correct," Kent told her as Lyn inspected the wound. "We cannot have you falling ill. You are not as physically strong as us, and none of us can do your job." _Thank you, Kent. I wonder how on Elibe I ever survived without you all fussing over me._

"You never said you were hurt! How long ago did this happen?" Lyn asked, motioning Serra over.

"Five minutes. It's not deep. Stop making a fuss." Lyn glared at her.

"It is not a fuss. I am worried. Did I not tell you to stay by my side?"

"I was by your side. The axe barely clipped me." This stopped her. "I'm sure we've all had far worse."

"We are all warriors, you're a tactician--"

"So you have to coddle me?" Dev shook her head. "Lyn, if you all have to watch me and guard me and keep an eye on me, constantly, then I'm not an asset to you. I'm dragging you all down." Sain, to her surprise, was the one to nod and, gallantly placing his hand upon his breastplate in a courtly manner, agree with her.

"Very true, Lady Dev! The sight of a fair damsel, injured and bleeding, was too much for me, but of course you are right. You know to see to your own wounds; one so skilled must have seen the battlefield many times before." Lyn listened to him and sighed, putting a hand on Dev's shoulder in apology.

"Sorry. My worry made me foolish. Of course you now what you're doing-- I came on this trip to learn from you, didn't I?" Dev nodded.

"It's alright, Lyn. I understand your worry. But I can look out for myself. Okay?"

Lyn laughed. "Alright. Kent, lead the way to our campsite."

Sain's head shot up. "Campsite? But there's an excellent inn at the border crossing! Fine ale, fine food, and the loveliest barmaid in all of Elibe!"

"Real beds?" Lyn asked.

"And real baths." Dev looked at Kent. "Did you know about this inn, Sir Kent?" He sighed.

"In my opinion, milady, considering our need to be covert, it would be best to miss the inn. Especially if Sir Sain's behavior will be as deplorable as is usual." Dev waved his complaint away.

"Nuh-uh. There's nothing odd about a group crossing from Bern into Lycia, and we've only suffered one assassination attempt so far. Is this inn popular?"

Sain nodded. "Best, and possibly more important, only inn within a day's ride of the border. I've never heard it to be empty." Dev smiled at Lyn.

"Well? Any assassin would be more cautious in a crowded inn of good repute than in a forest glade. Besides, Sir Kent, you wished to petition the Marquess Araphen for aid? We're not going to get anywhere near him looking like we do, dirty, sweaty and bloody."

Kent seemed about ready to argue some more, but Sain beat him to it. "Everyone who wants to go to the inn and sleep in a real bed, after a real hot bath and a real home-cooked meal accompanied by a cold mug of real ale, say 'aye'."

Everyone but Kent shouted it back, raising their hands into the bargain. Wil raised both. Kent glared at them for a brief moment before relenting.

"Ah, alright. Aye. The horses could use a proper stable for the night, I suppose, and some good hay. But you," he snapped, rounding on Sain once more, "had better behave yourself!" Sain chuckled and saluted, swinging himself onto Star.

"To the inn!" he yelled. The group was cheering when Erk tapped Dev on the shoulder.

"I hope you don't mind if we accompany you as far as the border? Keep in mind," he added, "that Serra has already invited herself, so you don't really have a lot of say."

Dev nodded and beckoned him onward. "Sure, the more the merrier. We did kind of drag you into the fight. Mind you, if you disappear in the night and leave her with us, I will hunt you down and make chaining yourself to an addled, rabid wyvern look pleasant by comparison. Got it?" Erk nodded, half smiling.

"If she weren't so clingy, or a member of the Ostian court, it would be a very attractive plan indeed, wyvern and all. But I'm afraid I'm stuck with her." He looked over at her. "You're a tactician?"

"Yep."

"Hmmm." He glanced at Sain and Wil, who were having an involved discussion about the quality of ale at different inns. "Care for some _intelligent _conversation?" he asked, sounding more than a little hopeful. Dev bit her lip and looked around, making sure no-one would hear her. Holding nothing against present company...

"Alright."

...

By the time they came to the inn, it was after dark. Erk and Dev were still talking; Serra had been tending to everyone's wounds on the road. Apparently all of Elimine's followers were devoted to their healing duties, even that nutcase. Their conversation had ranged from tactics, to their respective homelands, and had finally come to magic. He was impressed by how much she knew of it.

"--well, yeah, I know the theory, and I even managed a few sparks in practice. Magic requires a lot of concentration, though. If I was going to pick a way to defend myself in battle, it wouldn't be something that took my concentration away from the battle around me."

"But-- ah, yes, you need to see more than just the enemy in front of _you_. Of course. Still, I don't find it distracts me, unless I over-exert myself."

"Have you ever done that?" The corners of Erk's mouth twitched; everything was funny once it was over, it seemed.

"Twice. The first time was physical, mind. My master is very... distinguished. I wanted to be worthy of him, so I studied hard, barely pausing for rest or food. I collapsed after about a week and a half." Dev laughed; Erk chuckled. He could still remember Lady Louise fussing over him, bringing him food every day after that and watching him eat it.

"I'm sure you impressed him. The other was magical?" Erk nodded.

"I over-estimated my abilities. I put my life in no danger, but I was too tired even to get up for a week."

"Can magic exhaust you that much? I know Anima is the earthly magic, that sustains our life-forces, but--" Erk nodded.

"Indeed it-- is that a light?" Dev followed his gaze and grinned.

"Yes! The inn! Food, here we come! Bath! Bed! Yeehah!" Erk shook his head. He'd already learned how irrepressible she was. He was looking forward to a decent meal too: Serra would not cook for the two of them, and his own cooking was awful, refused even by the scavengers that skulked around the edges of their campsites. His stomach was growling at the prospect of a real meal.

What were they serving? He sniffed the air surreptitiously, trying to identify the odors. Woodsmoke mingled with less pipesmoke floated in the air, but it was harder to find the scent of any food. No, wait, there was something else, was it gravy, or roasted pork--

Memories of the battle assailed him; those bandits had been roasted too. The sight, smell, even the_ sound _of burning flesh-- human flesh-- came to him in far more vivid clarity that it had ever managed during the battle. His stomach twisted in his gut and he gagged, doubling over. Dev noticed.

"Erk? You okay?" He tried to nod, but gagged again, before his stomach finally overpowered his will. He lurched to the roadside to be sick, until he was bringing up thin, bitter bile-- all that was left in his stomach. He sat back and put his head down, nearly against his chest. He didn't notice that his hair had been held back until it fell in front of his face.

He looked left as Dev crouched down beside him. "The battle," she said, her tone practical. He hesitated, then nodded. She patted him on the back and offered him her waterskin. "You've never seen one before, have you? Just read about them." He rinsed his mouth out and nodded again. His throat was a little too raw to consider talking.

She chuckled and sat back. "Thought so. Don't worry," she added as Erk jumped at the sound of hoofbeats, "it happens to everyone, unless you're just a heartless, soulless bastard by birth. They'll understand. They'll call you green, but they'll understand."

"Why didn't I throw up right after the battle, or during the battle? Why four hours later?" he asked her. He'd been sickened during the battle, but not sick.

"During the battle, it always gets blocked out. Battle-rage, excitement, fear... the rush, basically. You don't notice what's happening around you, not in your gut. Later, when you remember _without _that rush, that's when it really hits you." She patted him again. "Food'll make you feel better." He glared at her; she was very cheery. Damned cheery.

"How can you think about-- Why aren't _you_ sick? You were there. You saw more than I did, too; I only fought five and you were watching everything." Her smile disappeared and she shrugged.

"Well, that's it, isn't it? I've seen more than you have. It doesn't get to me anymore. I threw up before _and_ after every battle once. Then it was only after, and later, I was just queasy. Now I barely notice at all. I block it off. You'll learn to, too, eventually." She paused, and added, "If you're unlucky." On that note, she stood up, bright again. "As to the first question, I can think about food because I'm _hungry_. Come on, they're waiting for you."

He wiped his mouth and stood up, following her down the road and shaking his head. That had been a sudden change of tone. Now he could understand why his teacher did not like battles, for all he said about overusing strength, and fostering good relations with other nobles and Generals. He hadn't become a mage so he could cook people in their skins, and close the memories off in some dark corner of his mind.

_That_ was why.

...

The inn was a godsend. The meal was a far cry from their camp cooking and warm water from skins, and simply feeling clean put an entirely new angle on their journey-- a far more pleasant one, too.

All the others seemed to share her attitude, too. Florina had collapsed onto her bed within moments of seeing it, apparently just to reassure herself that it was real, since she got up only a minute after collapsing onto it. Sain was quaffing mug after mug of ale (he had an inhuman ability to hold the stuff) and chatting up every female he saw (except Lyn), pausing now and then to argue with Kent. Wil was trading jokes that would have earned a severe slap from Kent with some mercenaries from the Warrior Isles. Erk had managed some dinner, after being prompted, and now seemed to have recovered completely: he was discussing the effects of magic use on environments with a shaman in the corner, an eccentric fellow with a monocle and an Ilian accent. Dev eventually got drawn into the conversation and stayed up talking to them until very late.

After they finished, which was when the innkeeper told them to get off his chairs and finish their discussion in their rooms, they simply bid each other goodnight and disbanded. Dev joined Lyn in their room. They both had a bed this time; both clean, in good repair, and comfortable. Lyn was already asleep, and Dev followed suit after only a few moments, only pausing to take off her traveling clothes and put on those meant for sleep.

...

She was a little surprised when she woke up stiff despite the soft bed, but it wasn't unexpected. Traveling at her own pace and whims day after day was a very different thing to keeping pace with three horses, with intention to reach a destination. The battles took their toll as well, running back and forth to give orders and climbing up and down hills to check progress. Her body simply had to get used to the new routine.

She stretched and woke Lyn, washed and dressed before she went downstairs. After breakfast, they paid the innkeeper and went outside, ready to leave. Sain was bidding Serra farewell in his own unique idiom. The very one which would be turned on Dev herself, once they got going-- Kent was to ride ahead and arrange an audience with the Marquess Araphen.

"It really is a shame you cannot accompany us to Caelin, Lady Serra," Sain told her. Erk snorted, but neither of them noticed. "Are you sure you must hasten on to Ostia?" Serra flapped a hand at Sain. Dev nearly burst out laughing, and Wil wasn't much better.

"Oh, yes, for you see, the dear lords Uther and Hector will pine without me. But, Sir Sain, Ostia is so much grander, and more impressive, than little Caelin! Why do _you_ not accompany _us_?" Sain drew himself up.

"I beg pardon, lady, but Caelin is most impressive indeed! It may not have the standing or prestige of Ostia, but it has men and women of passion, strength and undying fidelity! Besides, it is to Caelin that we have sworn our oaths, and we are bound to accompany the Lady Lyndis to its heart!" Serra's attitude changed immediately.

_"Lady_ Lyndis? Sir Sain, you never mentioned this!"

"Well, it is quite secret, you see, as we are embroiled in an inheritance dispute involving the Marquess's brother. We must proceed with all caution! The Lady Lyndis's life is in danger." For once he actually looked serious. Serra gaped and squealed.

"You _certainly_ never mentioned this! Well, I must accompany you!" Lyn seemed taken aback.

"Join us? But I thought you had to get to Ostia, with all possible haste." Serra shook her head, ignoring Erk's protests.

"Not if you are in danger! As a member of the Ostian court, I have a duty to aid any Lycian that needs it! And usurpation of a throne is blasphemous, a terrible crime against those chosen to succeed by the gods! The ones I serve, incidentally," she added. Erk rolled his eyes and shook his head at Dev.

"You can't be serious. Now that Sain's told you Lyn's a noble, you want to come with us all of a sudden." Dev fiddled with the edge of her cloak. Serra's motives were suspicious, but she seemed harmless enough, even if she was the most annoying being since...

Dev grinned, aware that it looked like a shark's. She had a plan so cunning she could have painted it red and called it a fox.

"Of course!" she yelled, ignoring the stares from the rest of the group. "We'd be only too happy to have you!" Erk was looking at her like she had grown another head, and not in a place where heads normally go. She let him. "But you're so delicate... we can't have you tiring yourself. It's a long way to Caelin." Erk's face cleared and he looked at her with renewed respect. Sharp as a wyvern's scales, that one.

"Florina could carry her," Kent interjected. Dev shook her head vigorously.

"No, no, she needs to be near us at all times, just in case. If she were in the air, then we couldn't reach her easily. Also, pegasi don't do well with strangers, right off. No, it will have to be someone else. Someone brave, and strong, willing to protect you and treat you as a lady is treated, of course," she said, bowing. "Someone with a horse, obviously."

Sain cleared his throat, looking at Dev. "I can think of a name, lady Dev, but I fear I would neglect your own care." Dev waved him away.

"Nonsense! She needs it far more, Sain! I'm a soldier as much as you, and she is a delicate princess! Offer your service, man!" she finished, pointing to Serra.

Sain dismounted and bowed to Serra. "Milady Serra, please, allow me to serve you! I shall make your trip to Caelin as effortless as gliding across a ballroom floor!"

Serra blushed and offered him her hand. "Ah, Sir Sain, you _are_ gallant. But what of my escort? I cannot leave him at a loose end. He would pine after me."

Erk sighed and stepped forward. "I suppose that I could accompany our _brilliant_ tactician to Caelin. After all, you do deserve the very finest, Lady Serra. I only grieve that I cannot provide it, but I have always been a poor horseman at best." Serra looked at Erk sideways, but didn't catch on.

"Well, I suppose you are only human, Erk. Elimine taught that all have strengths to help those with weaknesses. And now Sain is helping you to help me! Isn't that wonderful!" She curtsied to Sain and allowed him to help her onto his horse. "Thank you, Sir Sain."

"It is the duty of any knight, Lady Serra." He wheeled his horse and followed Kent, who had already cantered off in disgust. Lyn was looking at Dev, suspicion in her eyes.

"Did you invite her just to get rid of Sain?" Dev shook her head.

"Nah, I would have anyway. A healer's good to have with us. This way, we can conserve our medicines. Besides, Lyn, do you really think she woul have taken 'no' for an answer?" Lyn smiled and shrugged.

"I suppose you're right. In that case, well done." She left, following the knights down the road to Araphen. The others did the same, either wearing expressions of horror or mirth. (Wil seemed to laugh at nearly everything, actually.)

Erk crossed his arms and shook his head, a smile crossing his face. Dev spread her arms and shrugged, a helpless expression on her face. "What can I say? I'm a genius."

"That you are. So, shall we be off? I believe I agreed to escort you. You may well have just saved my sanity."

"And my own," Dev told him. "Still, I don't think we finished our conversation last night." He bowed to her, and they followed the others down the path, heads turned toward each other in conversation.

"Where did we leave it again?"

"It was the effects of divine magic on those suffering from--"

...

_Heheh. Alright! This may be my fastest update EVER. And the chapter is only slightly shorter than the other ones. Are you proud of me? I'm proud of myself. It hasn't even been a week! _

_...Does it make up for nearly a year with no uploads? Don't think so, but maybe if I can keep this pace up, I'll dig myself out of that rut. ...Man, I can't believe I did that! It's probably that I'm just so hyper about having the internet back. I feel like I don't need sleep anymore. Sleep takes up time that could be spent reading webcomics and fanfics. _

_One serious thing (and just about completely off topic) : In the Fire Emblem Writer's Guild forums, there's a idea to hold Emblem awards, a way of showcasing outstanding FE fanfics (as far as I can tell.). I'm not asking for a nomination in there, just for anyone who's interested in participating to look, because there are doubts about it getting off the ground. It's a great idea, IMO, and it could really use some support. That's all on that..._

_Reviews are extremely welcome, as always. Sagewolf out._


	5. Games

**Ch 5:**

**Games**

They reached Araphen after about a day and a half of travel. It wasn't hard to get into the town; the gates were wide open, inviting all to enter and see the canton's heart. Two guards lounged at their posts, making sure no-one who was obviously a bandit got in. They looked the travelers over with a bored eye and, seeing only a small group accompanied by a Lycian knight, waved them through the gates in a moment. Wil vanished into an armory, after taking money from Sain, and came out bearing an fresh supply of arrows.

Sain stopped them in front of the castle entrance and led them to a grassy lawn where they could wait out of the way. "We must wait for Kent," he explained. "Someone has undoubtedly told the marquess that we have arrived. Now, we should wait to be summoned." Dev shrugged and sat down on the grass. Lyn sat down beside her. She was fidgety, shifting her weight, her limbs, her eyes all over the place.

"Lyn?" Dev asked. Lyn looked up, startled, and laughed weakly.

"Ah. I'm-- ah. Sorry." Dev continued to look at her. "I'm just nervous. That's all. I've never met a noble before."

Dev sat back. "I see. Don't worry. Even if he's a complete jerk, nobles tend to step softly around each other, especially in Lycia, where they're all equal. If he knows that you're the marquess Caelin's granddaughter, then he'll most likely be civil. Hey, who knows. He might even be nice."

Lyn shook her head and sat back, leaning on her hands. "How did one so young become so cynical?"

Dev laughed. "I wasn't being cynical. I was being realistic."

"All cynics say that."

"Oh? And you've known so many, I suppose?"

"Mmm. You're still doing it."

"Lyn!"

Lyn's mouth quirked up in a smile. "What?"

"Stop calling me a cynic!"

"Stop being one." Dev threw her hands up in the air.

"Aagh. I give up. Fine! I'm a cynic. Happy?"

Lyn looked at her friend in shock, clearly very hurt. "Dev! How could you think I'd be happy if you're so upset?" Dev felt bad about that, she hadn't meant to insult Lyn.

"That's so cynical." The hurt look was gone. So was Dev's bad feeling.

"LYYYYYN!"

...

Sain moved Star over as his lady and liege bolted by him, laughing madly, their tactician hot on her heels with a manic grin on her face. He chuckled. It was a good thing the Lady Lyndis was happy; she'd been quiet and distracted all the way to Araphen. No frown should ever have marred such beauty as she possessed. Dev wasn't usually this excitable, either, although judging by the fact that she'd gone to quite a lot of trouble to get the (admittedly beautiful) Sister Serra to ride with him from the inn, that may have been because of him.

Some people simply found his manner difficult. It was an awful shame that three of the lovely ladies in their camp were among them. He sighed and leaned back against Star. Oh! Well, here was another person who found him difficult.

"Ho! My boon companion!" he called. "How goes the day! Are we to go in?" Kent shook his head, looking worried.

"No, and keep your voice down. You are a knight of Caelin, god preserve us all. Have some dignity."

"Is something wrong, Kent?" he asked, actually keeping his voice down, doing as Kent said. It would never do for the lovely ladies to be worried-- or jump to conclusions.

"The captain of the guard is doing patrols. I couldn't get anyone to tell me anything, but from what I gathered, this is odd." He patted his sword almost imperceptibly. Sain rested his hand on his lance, looking as if he was lounging against the horse.

"You don't think they'd try _here? _Only a complete knave would do so when we are availing of the Marquess Araphen's hospitality!" Kent shrugged.

"It matters not what I think. Only what happens, and what we must do if it does." Sain shook his head. His partner was so very serious. He leaned back, ready but relaxed, and watched his liege being chased around the castle lawn by her mad tactician. Really, right in front of the palace. What could happen?

"Lyn! Get back here now! Man, when I catch you, I'm gonna-- Lyn! Move, move!" Lyn spun around, looking at her friend, who barreled into her at full speed. Both were knocked to the ground just as a throwing dagger flew above their heads, embedding itself in the dirt at Wil's feet.

"Damn!" Sain swore and leapt onto Star as a swordsman drew his weapon and charged. Hadn't he been a guard? He'd been acting like one, and he was wearing the uniform. Yet what competent attacker would walk up brazenly? This was what Kent had meant, oh damn!

He wasn't going to make it in time; as fast as Star was, the swordsman was too close, and Lyn was too stunned to take her sword out. Dev didn't have her staff, but at least she was ready for his approach.

He urged Star on. What an utter lout he was! A chivalric failure! Why hadn't he been closer?

...

Lyn struggled to her feet, gripping her sword hilt tightly as she shouldered Dev aside to stand in front of her. She drew the Mani Katti in a sweeping arc meant to drive the assassin back as well as clear the blade of the scabbard.

It didn't work. He merely ducked under the blade and dropped his own sword. Steel flashed in his left hand and bright, sharp pain traced itself along Lyn's thigh. She fell to one knee and cried out, trying to alert the others to their plight. The assassin chuckled and raised his weapon to strike again, only to be knocked back the same instant by a well-aimed kick from Dev. Snarling, he backhanded her across the face, sending her sprawling-- he was far bigger than either of them.

He drew his weapon again and Lyn was dimly aware of both Dev and Sain charging and yelling, each nearly close enough to strike the assassin--but not _first. _He was closer, and Lyn couldn't get up, and she could only wonder why this had to happen, when all she had wanted was to see her grandfather, just once-- _No. _It would _not_ happen. She shifted her weight onto her good leg and drew back her fist, screaming a Sacaen war cry--

She was not prepared to see the assassin topple over dead, an arrow in his throat. She stared at him for a moment, not quite comprehending that the fight was over until Dev skidded to the grass in front of her.

"Lyn! Lyn! You okay?" There was blood in her friend's mouth, and her words came out clumsily. Lyn nodded, gathered her wits, and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. She got up, relying heavily on Dev for support, and waited for Serra to come tend to her wound. She fixed Lyn up quickly enough as Lyn looked in the direction the arrow had come from.

A tall man, in his early twenties, sat astride a swift-looking, fine-boned sorrel stallion. A short bow rested in his hands, another arrow already nocked as he regarded Lyn silently. The horse, the tack, his clothes, even his bow and arrows were all of Sacaen style, if not exactly as she had known the garb and items of her village.

"Sir! Are you from Sacae? From the plains?" He regarded her a moment longer, then the others, and shook his head, turning his horse back the way they'd come.

"I am sorry," he told her, watching the knights. "I had thought a plainswoman was being attacked. It appears that I was mistaken." He started to leave.

"Wait!" she called, running after him, now that Serra was done with her and had moved on to Dev. Her leg was a little stiff, but it would not hamper her greatly. "I am from Sacae. I am Lyn, of the Lorca."

His eyebrows rose incrementally. "The Lorca? I received news that they were destroyed. I was not aware that there were survivors." Lyn nodded.

"A few, now, scattered to the winds. That is all." He shook his head sadly.

"I am Rath, of the Kutolah. Are these men after you?" She nodded. "And your companions, they give you aid?" She looked back at them, and nodded again.

"Yes. They are my friends, loyal and true."

He did not answer. He was watching Kent. "The knight in red," he said eventually, "came here earlier, asking audience for a Lady Lyndis, of Caelin, daughter of the late Lady Madelyn, and, as such, granddaughter of the current marquess. Are you this person as well?" Lyn stared for a moment, trying to separate her own identity from such a list of titles and associations.

"Yes," she told him. "I am traveling to meet my grandfather. He is the only family I have left." Rath looked her over, then held his hand out to her.

"Then come. We will drive these scum away from the castle, and from you as well. I am the captain of the guard here."

"Thank you, Rath," Lyn replied, taking his hand and shaking it. "A thousand blessings upon you."

"And a thousand curses upon our enemies! Where are they?"

...

Dev flexed her jaw. It felt alright; none of the teeth seemed loose or crooked, anyway. She tried talking.

"Do I sound alright? No slurring, no lisping?" Dorcas nodded, and Sain said something to the tune of her voice being as lovely and melodious as ever. Good. She thanked Serra, then stopped to sniff the air.

Could she smell smoke? She looked over at Erk; he was looking back at her, utterly confused. It wasn't a spell, then, or at least not his spell. She looked behind her, at the castle, just as bells began to ring and shouts began to rise into the air.

Ah. There was the smoke. And she'd been hoping that the assassin had been acting on his own. Oh well. Here they went again. She looked around for her staff and saw it lying on the ground where she'd left it.

She regarded the others; all looked shaken, but ready for battle (except possibly Erk). A stableboy had already responded to Kent's whistle and was bringing a saddled and bridled Fidele to the knight. Sain was already mounted and having a whispered conversation with his partner. Wil had his bow strung; Dorcas's axe was out. Florina gripped her lance with white-knuckled hands, but sat tall and straight on her mare's back. Serra brandished her staff at everything around her in over-eager haste, while Erk flipped through the pages of his Fire tome, whispering words to himself and staring into the middle distance.

They were as ready as they were going to get, then. She ordered Florina to circle above the castle, checking the positions of the enemies, and all the others to keep an eye out for them. They would figure out that their comrade had failed soon enough. Or they already had, and that was why the fire had started. Either way, they had a fight on their hands. While they waited, Lyn came back, the archer who'd saved them following her.

"Your name?"

He eyed her, his expression inscrutable, before replying. "Rath." She nodded.

"Right, Rath. What do you know of what's going on?" He shrugged.

"Not much. We must get inside the castle, though." He pointed to a large, squat building, separate from the rest of the palace. "There is a switch, in there. We must trip it and two others to gain access to the marquess."

"_We_ must destroy these curs, utterly and completely," Kent interjected. "Our first duty is to the Lady Lyndis, not the Marquess Araphen." Rath looked at Kent, his expression revealing surprise. Recovering quickly, he nodded.

"I understand. The castle guard, however, will rally to him. Expect no aid but for mine." Kent donned his helm in response.

Dev noticed something glint in an alcove. "Where are these other two switches?" Rath pointed to another building, on the other side of the castle entirely, and then explained that the other one was inside. They would not be able to trip it until the other two had been tripped. "Well, then, go trip the switch. We'll be safer inside the castle anyway. Erk, Dorcas, go with him." They jogged after the horseman, Erk clutching his book, Dorcas gripping his axe.

She checked the alcove again, this time seeing a flash of red and the glint of sandy hair. It disappeared quickly. _Wonderful_, she thought. _Now I know he's there, and he knows I know, and I know he knows I know. If he's worth his salt, he knows I know he knows I know. And, frankly, I just don't feel like playing that game right now. _

"If you don't come out now, I will sic the archer and both the knights on you. So let us see your pretty face before they puncture it." After a moment's hesitation, a sandy-haired young man in simple, well-made green and brown, covered by a red cloak, appeared from the shadows. A long knife was sheathed at his belt. Lyn jumped backwards and both the knights placed their hands on their weapons. Wil nocked an arrow on the string and kept it trained on the stranger's chest.

"Whoa!" he called. "Easy on the puncturing. I've got a girlfriend back home." _Oh god. Please, _please _don't let him be another Sain. _"Name's Matthew. I couldn't help overhearing your little predicament."

"What predicament?" Lyn asked, clearly suspicious. She hadn't put her sword away yet.

He grinned, walking slowly toward them, hands up and far away from his belt knife, eyes watching Wil's bow. "The one where you need to get into the castle before the fire spreads too far, but the other switch you need to trip is way on the other side of the building, and only one person has the keys, so you're stuck waiting until your scout comes back to tell you where all the bad guys are that you need to kill. _That_ predicament." Lyn blinked.

"Well, Dev, do you think this sneak has anything going for him?" Dev watched him very carefully. He was very observant, anyway. More observant than an assassin, unless an especially clever one had been sent. Then again, it would be very interesting if a Caelin assassin had blanched at the sight of, and kept glancing nervously toward, an _Ostian_ cleric. Especially as that cleric hadn't said a single word yet. Very interesting indeed.

For the moment, however, it seemed prudent to ignore such things. "Perhaps. Knowing our problem hasn't gotten us out of it."

He shrugged. "There I can help you."

"You have keys to the castle?"

He bowed, smiling charmingly. "I have keys to every castle, lady..."

_Thief. Useful, certainly, but is he trustworthy? _"No lady. Just Dev. This is Lyn. Why do you want to help us?" He pointed at the corpse.

"Your side looks like more fun than his." Dev shook her head-- that was a very bad reason. If he expected her to believe it, he was dumber than she thought. "Of course, I expect payment..."

Lyn narrowed her eyes. "How much?"

"Say... two hundred gold? Will that do? I'm only opening a door, after all." She nodded and handed the money over.

"I'm off!" he yelled. "Oh, and could somebody follow me? I'm not a big, strapping fellow like yon knights..." Dev shook her head and signaled Wil and Sain as Florina spiraled down. As she did so, she caught the thief's eye. He met her gaze with a wise, appraising grin before he turned away.

_I know he knows. He knows I know. _

_I hate these games._

_..._

Matthew stuck his head around the corner, checking the entrance of the building containing the switch. Two mercenaries stood there, each carrying a sharp sword and looking around with keen eyes. Their enemy was someone who knew Araphen well, then-- he doubted those switches were public knowledge. He tapped the knight on the leg and pointed the soldiers out. The man rode toward them with a suspicious glance at Matthew.

"Huh," he murmured to himself. "Well, I'm not particularly popular, am I?" He tried to remember if he'd ever seen the green knight before, even though he'd never worked in Caelin. After a moment's pondering, he failed to dredge up either a memory of his face or his name and decided it wasn't that. Just because no-body ever remembered him didn't mean_ he_ forgot _them._ He glanced back at the archer. Jeez. Matthew was getting a cold look from him too. Were these people that self-righteous, that they had to look at a thief this way?

The knight waved him over, watching him the whole way there. He didn't let go of his lance. The archer hadn't unnocked his arrow, either. It finally occurred to Matthew when he saw that-- they thought he was an assassin. Well, he wasn't, and maybe before the end of the day he'd convince them of that. Maybe a daring dive to save the Lady Lyndis's life... She certainly had her mother's looks. Not that he'd ever met the Lady Madelyn, but he'd seen the portraits. He'd made sure that he'd seen the portraits.

He produced his lockpicks from his sleeve and set to work on the lock. A burning sensation in his fingers announced a spell set on the mechanism; a quickly-sketched symbol and a whispered word were enough to dispel it. He grinned, satisfied. This was a custom spell, and well-cast, but it had to be unlockable by one with no magical skill whatsoever. And no matter how strong a defense was, the right bit of information could _always _bring it down. That was his specialty. Finding it, recognizing it, remembering it, and having it to hand when it became useful. He doubted any of these clods would figure that out, mighty fighters though they were. The mechanism clicked and he peered through the keyhole, before whispering, "Two, one swordsman, one mage," to the knight. He opened the door and let them through, slipping past the fighters to trip the switch.

"Alright!" he called when he felt it fall into place. "Come on, back to the others!" The knight impaled the swordsman with enough force to pierce the armor on his back, and tugged his lance free, letting the limp corpse drop with a wet thud. Matthew grimaced. That was so bloody _messy._ He followed the fighters outside and jogged around the side of the castle. The others had already tripped the first switch and entered the castle.

The Lady Lyndis was fighting off an enormous knight with her blade, aided by the axeman. Her knight and the Araphen captain were acting as rear guard, while a pegasus knight kept soldiers away from a red-robed mage, kneeling on the ground. Serra was next to him (why in the names of all the gods that had ever existed did_ she _have to be there?) healing the mage's arm, while the green-cloaked girl said something to him in low tones.

Matthew's mouth quirked up in an involuntary smile. Alright, alright, he was worried. That one was something else for sure. If she didn't know why he was there just then, she would probably know by the end of the day. He'd never been found out before, but then, he probably hadn't matched wits with someone as smart as that girl seemed before. She'd certainly figured him out fast. What was more, if he was reading her right, now she was figuring out what to do about him. Until the battle ended, though, she was stuck with him-- Lyndis had hired him, after all.

Which meant he had a little bit of time to find something that would keep her quiet. Her bag seemed like a good place to start.

...

Dev watched Erk get up and move his arm around experimentally. "All better?" she asked. He nodded.

"Feels alright..." He swallowed and doubled over, choking off his words. Dev placed a hand on his chest and forced him upright.

"Stop that," she told him. "That's what got you injured in the first place. Do you think you could keep it in until after the battle at all?" He opened his mouth as if to speak, then snapped it shut abruptly and swallowed hard. Dev sighed. It didn't seem as if he was going to get any better very soon; his skin had a decidedly green tinge to it. She looked at him again. His build was very slight. Even for a mage, he was slim.

"Erk?"

"Hmm?"

"How old are you, exactly?" He swallowed again before he managed to answer.

"F-- ah-- Fourteen. Why?" Dev groaned. She'd known he was young, but fourteen? What sort of idiot had sent a fourteen year old boy on a mission in bandit-infested Bern? He was damn lucky they'd found him, or he might not have made it. She wasn't about to tell him to clear off, but at this point, it was pretty clear that he wasn't going to be of any use in a battle.

He heard the groan. "I'm a perfectly competent mage," he told her, trying to look impressive.

"But you're not a competent _soldier,_" she told him. "There's a difference." He looked at her for another minute, then sagged.

"Yes. I understand. I'm sorry, I--" She waved it off.

"It's alright. Not everyone can be. But that means you kind of have to--"

"Get out of everyone else's way?" She nodded and he bowed to her. She looked around; Sain and Wil were back. Where was Matthew? She didn't like him being where she couldn't watch him. A muffled sound from beside her reminded her of Erk just as she decided to go and search him out. The battle was practically over anyway, she thought, as she pointed him toward Kent and called Wil over to provide cover fire for Florina and Erk's retreat.

After one last check to make sure no-one really needed her around for direction, she slipped off, looking for the thief.

...

The Lady Lyndis's horse was in a stable at the gate, with the horses of the guardsmen. A huge blue roan, he stamped his feet angrily as Matthew approached the bags strapped to his saddle. Matthew, however, was not one to be chased away so easily. He had already targeted one of the bags, made of well-stitched, but worn, leather. It was not of Sacaen make, but Bernese, and it was military-issue, too. That was bizarre, but boded well for him. The odder a person's history, the more likely they had secrets. He produced a carrot from his pocket.

"Good horsey. Nice horsey. I don't think that's your mistress's bag, now, is it? No it's not, it's that Ilian girl's. Why don't you just let me have it? It's none of your concern anyways." All the time he was sidling towards it, holding the carrot out. Once he was close enough, he unhooked the bag and dropped the carrot on the floor, backing away from the horse very carefully. This proved difficult: it was now blocking the stall exit and rolling its eyes at him. He held his hands up and climbed onto the water trough, hiding in the hay loft. This, too, was partitioned, to keep visitors from giving their mounts too much hay. Ah well. The stupid horse would get distracted soon enough.

Rifling through the bag proved more boring than anything else. Spare clothes and some scraps of cloth for patching (which the bag showed extensive evidence of) were in the main pocket of the bag, while the others contained a sewing kit, vulneraries, soap, dried meat, bread, brushes for hair and teeth, a few gold... The standard traveler's kit. Who cared. Among the odder items were a Bernese soldier's crest, cracked down the centre, and a tuft of pegasus feathers. Neither particularly interested him. The crest had a name, Gretha, engraved on it (which indeed might have been hers), but it also had a date of birth impressed in the metal, and of death, engraved on the rim. Discounting the fact that she was obviously _alive_, no _way_ was she thirty-four years old. Pegasus feathers... well, they most likely bloody knew she was Ilian, so he couldn't hang that over her head.

He was about to give up when he felt a tiny button through the cloth. He grinned. A secret compartment! They were probably standard in these bags, for confidential missives and such, but it was a very good bet on where incriminating papers would be hidden. He opened it with a deft touch, and pulled out a paper-- the only one in there.

His shoulders sagged almost immediately. A letter from her big brother. From eight bloody years ago. Still, it might have been coded (although a codemaster who would write that much like a twelve-year-old was a rarity), so he skimmed through it anyway. It didn't fit any codes that he knew.

One of his eyebrows quirked up halfway through-- this boy was addressing a 'Fiara'. Hadn't her name been Dev? Hmmm. Fiara. That rang a bell, somewhere deep down. He'd heard that name somewhere before, in the course of his work. Or had he been talking to an older colleague on leisure? Ah well. He kept reading, more attentive now.

Nothing else seemed particularly interesting. He was telling her she was a nut for wanting him to back out of a trip he was taking soon (well, had taken nearly a decade ago.) He went on and on about the honor of the Ilian knights and how pegasus knights weren't the only important troops in the country and other patriotic twaddle. One interesting word in the entire bloody letter and he couldn't even remember why it was important--

_Signed , Sarano ven Velkhir, this third day of the month of the Wyvern, 971. _

Matthew blinked. Velkhir. So that would mean the letter was addressed to Fiara ap Velkhir.

He let a low whistle escape his lips and winced-- what had possessed him to make a noise? He listened out for any other sounds around him. A low murmur reached his ears, along with a rustle of hay. He strained his ears to their limit and made out words.

"--chase him up there? Clever boy, Thunder. Clever, clever boy. And I thought you didn't like me." A low nicker came after this and Matthew sighed slumping back down. He had _definitely_ never matched wits with someone as smart as this girl before. He rolled the letter up and shouldered the bag, steeling himself. Foolishness now was not to his benefit.

The most impressive tactical prodigy Ilia had ever produced was waiting for him in that stall, and he was about to engage her in a match of wits. Oh joy.

...

Dev leaned up against Thunder's flank and waited. She'd known there was something wrong with him. Well, now she had a letter in her pocket, signed and sealed by the Marquess Ostia, no less, that said he was a spy. It had been a clever hiding place-- a secret compartment on the underside of the saddle most people would have assumed he didn't have. Some guards would tell you anything for twenty gold, though, including where a visitor they _hadn't_ had had stabled a horse that he_ didn't _own, as well as which tack _wasn't_ his.

On the other hand her bag was missing, and noises were coming from the hay loft. It was probably thanks to Thunder's intervention that he was up there at all, and not just long gone. She'd thought that horse hated her. Now he was sniffing her cloak for titbits, serenity emanating from every line of his body. Apparently he'd decided that if Lyn liked her, he did too. She gave him a sprig of mint from their traveling packs. She didn't much like the taste of mint anyway.

Her bag began to descend from the loft, hanging from the strap, until it touched the ground with a gentle thump. Matthew's head poked out of the hole a moment later. He saw her, disappeared again, and dropped from the loft feet-first. He held up a scrap of paper.

"All cards on the table?" he asked. "It would make things go so much more smoothly." She smiled and produced the letter she'd found.

"You want to know what I know? You are an Ostian spy, paid by the marquess to keep an eye on Lyn and the succession of the Caelin throne. Am I right?" He shrugged.

"Yeah, more or less. I get expenses and a monthly pension after I retire, though, not actual pay. You," he said, "are Fiara ap Velkhir, former apprentice tactician to the Ilian High Court. You, for all our information, were set to become one of the finest tacticians in Ilia. But you disappeared nearly eight years ago and have never been seen on your native soil since. Am I right?" She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Almost exactly eight years ago. Other than that, yes." He'd missed the debacle in Bern, but what he had was enough--and impressively accurate, apart from that 'finest' nonsense. "So. Which of us holds the higher bet?" He twirled the paper he held between his fingers.

"I'd say I do. After all, I report to a higher authority-- you seem to be running from it."

She shook her head. "Ah, but who can you tell that will know what you're talking about, or care? Trust me, none of those people are anywhere near here. On the other hand, if I tell Lyn you're spying on her, you are in for a very nasty encounter with her or the two knights. Right?"

He scratched his chin. "Perhaps. I can always run home to Ostia, and they won't be able to touch me."

She grinned. "And I can always just run. I've gotten very good at escaping notice." What a brilliant bluff, if she did say so herself. As transparent as a mountain stream. They thought she was dead, for all she knew; she hadn't been 'escaping' anything. Besides, what did they really care about her?

It seemed to have worked, though, for all its simplicity. He considered her argument as he pocketed her letter. "Well, then, I'd say we have brought each other to a stalemate." He grinned. "Until circumstances change."

"I suppose." She pocketed the letter. "And, of course, if they ask where we were--"

"We were playing a game. And it was ever so entertaining. May I get out now?" She nodded and prodded Thunder out of the way. He stepped aside with a snort and she led Matthew out, closing the stall door behind them. "I assume that if I call you anything other than Dev, all bets are off?"

"Yes. And keep your nimble fingers to yourself in the future. I assume you are determined to come with us?"

"Of course. I am on duty, you see. I can't just abandon a job because some annoying prodigy found me out." He grinned at her. "Oh, and since we're stuck with each other, why not be civil? We don't have to hate each other."

She gave him a look she knew was odd. "Diplomacy? From a spy?"

"Where better to get it?" She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Sorry. Find someone else to be friends with. I don't like political games." He skipped in front of her.

"Those aren't the only kind I play, though. I'm quite the companionable conversationalist." He fell into step on the other side of her and leaned in close. "Or, of course, I could act as quite the efficient scout."

Dev eyed him suspiciously, expecting a trick. "I thought you were the Marquess Ostia's vassal? What would Lord Uther say if he heard about this? And what about taking sides?" Matthew flapped a hand at her and laughed.

"He wouldn't care, as long as I do my job for him well. Besides, I was practically ordered to take a side: I have to report to Lord Uther on the most well-advised course of action should things in Caelin come to a head. And frankly," he continued, "considering the recent rumors of the Marquess Caelin's ill health..."

"Sudden?" Dev asked. "Serious?"

Matthew nodded sagely. "Indeed. You have no idea how refreshing it is not to have to explain these things, incidentally. Oh, don't snort. Be glad you're not as naive as the young master, that you can discern these levels of meaning. Anyway, keeping these recent events in mind, it is my opinion that the Lord Lundgren is altogether too ambitious for the good of Ostia and Lycia in general." Dev considered his argument and nodded. It seemed sound enough, and he was definitely an Ostian agent. All his argument hinged on was his loyalty to Ostia. There was no definite way to test that, however. Well, chances were there to be taken and not endlessly considered.

"Okay. Scouting? How do I know how good you are? If we needed information about something, how would you get it?" He shrugged.

"How'd you find my horse? The right question, in the right ear, with a shiny piece of gold to refresh a memory, or a mug of ale to lubricate a throat. Simple games, simply won."

"Okay, smartass, why are we in Araphen, then?" He ticked off his reasons on his fingers.

"Common sense says to stock up on supplies and keep yourselves and your weapons ready for anything that may happen, and that's what a lot of people would assume. My own information says that it's to ask the Marquess here for aid on your little trip, and that's what I believe. Under normal circumstances, I would say you had a good chance, too." In response to Dev's questioning look,he continued. "The Marquess here hates Sacaeans, thinks they're scum underfoot. Then again, he was very enamored indeed of the Lady Madelyn before she eloped, so he would be tempted, I'd say, to turn a blind eye to her Sacae blood and see her as Madelyn's daughter, and that alone." His piece said, he eyed the column of smoke coming from the castle and asked, "So what do you think of your chances?" She snorted. After this fiasco?

"A rabbit in a fox's mouth has better prospects than we do." Matthew nodded, sauntering along with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, I'm thinking that too."

...

The reached the castle gates just as Lyn came storming out of them. Dev stopped short; she was in a real temper.

"Dev! Come on! We are leaving this place and its-- _marquess_!" Dev bit her lip and attempted reason.

"Lyn, come on, we don't have to go now, do we? I mean, well, we still have to get our horses ready, and we need new supplies like vulneraries and such..." Lyn waved a hand in a negating motion.

"We leave now!" Dev watched her tear up the path to the guardhouse and leaned on her staff as Kent trotted up, leading his horse.

"I take it we can expect no aid whatsoever?" Kent shook his head.

"Well, yes, but that's not why she is angry. The Marquess Araphen refused aid on the grounds that she is Sacaen." Dev frowned.

"He called her blood tainted!" Sain was almost as mad as Lyn. "Imagine, the gall to say such a thing!" Kent rounded on his partner.

"And you had to lose your tongue and disgrace not only yourself but your liege!" Sain seemed genuinely taken aback by this. He shifted uneasily from foot to foot and looked down.

Matthew looked from tactician to knights and bowed out. "I'll just go get my horse ready, shall I?" Dev jumped and checked her pocket-- the letter was still there. He was already gone anyway. Kent looked at Dev, his question in his eyes.

"I hired him on for the rest of the trip. I didn't think we'd get any help from the Marquess after this catastrophe." She waved her hand at the castle. Kent winced and nodded.

"As you see fit," he told her, although his voice betrayed his disapproval. "I suppose another sword-arm would be useful." He nodded at Sain. "We should get ready to go as well."

"Yeah," Wil agreed, passing them by. "It doesn't look like she's waiting up." Dev grimaced and ran down the path. Lyn was not leaving Araphen without them.

She caught up outside the gate, on the road. Lyn was trying to get Thunder to gallop down the road without them. Thunder, thankfully, was having none of it. He shied and snorted, but refused to move forward. Dev ran up and grabbed Lyn's leg.

"Lyn! I know you're upset, but we have to wait for the others. They need to get ready." Lyn frowned and looked down.

"Alright. Sorry. I should have waited." She patted Thunder on the neck, then stopped, staring at Dev.

Dev grinned. "What?"

"You're leaning up against Thunder--"

"Yeah. I guess he decided a friend of yours is a friend of his. Right?" Thunder shook his head energetically and Dev laughed. "Right!" She swung herself onto the back of the saddle. "So I'm riding with you from here on out. Okay?" Lyn smiled.

"Of course! If he lets you. I'm surprised he's being so nice."

"Believe me, so am I. You know, we have just about enough horses now to let everyone ride, if Serra will ride with Florina."

Lyn looked behind her. "Now?"

"Matthew has a horse. He's coming." Lyn was getting mad again now.

"You let him come?" Dev stared at Lyn, all innocence.

"What? You hired him. Besides, it'll be good to have another sword-arm." Neither heard the hooves approaching them as they argued.

"You also have my bow." Lyn jumped in the saddle and swung around to face the newcomer. It was Rath. "I would travel with you. Is this acceptable?" Lyn nodded.

"Well, yes, of course, but we are are riding from danger into more danger--"

"Then I am all the more pleased I can offer my assistance. You have my aid, Lyn of the Lorca. And this," he added, pulling a pouch from his belt.

Lyn looked inside it and saw the glint of gold. She gaped-- it was probably more than she'd seen in her entire life. Dev was impressed.

"And this is for us?" she asked. He nodded.

"Rath, this is-- I can't--" Lyn's stuttering was brought to an abrupt halt by Rath's answer.

"I have offered my aid. I cannot now retract it." He rode away, stopping a short distance down the road and watching the horizon.

"What did you do to impress him?" Dev asked.

"I-- I'm not sure. This is almost more than I can accept." Lyn watched Rath, bemusement showing on her face, and fell silent. Dev let the silence fall. Well, now Serra could continue to ride with Sain, if Dorcas could ride with Rath. Florina would scout-- having an aerial scout was unbelievably useful (other types notwithstanding). After a moment, she dismounted and left to tell everyone about their new traveling arrangements.

...

Kent guided Fidele to the side of the road, where Wil stood. "Get up. We're to share a saddle," he told the archer. Wil met Kent's eyes in shock and Kent realized something. "You've never ridden, have you?" Wil shook his head.

"Errr... no. No, I haven't. And that horse looks very, very big, so I'll just--" Kent dismounted and strapped Wil's bow and quiver to the saddle.

"Alright. You'll sit in front, then, so I can stop you from falling off." A shout from across the road alerted him to Sain, watching him. Once he was sure he had Kent's attention, Sain gestured clearly to Lady Lyndis with his head. Kent nodded. He was right. Now was the time for them to apologize for their failures today. Any punishment she meted out would be less than they deserved. He told Wil to stay and get acquainted with Fidele, then joined his partner beside their liege's horse. Sain waited for Kent's lead.

Kent cleared his throat, getting her attention, as well as that of their tactician. He bowed deeply as she turned to him, turning his eyes toward the dirt of the road.

"Kent?" she asked, worry and concern in her voice. "Is something wrong? Has something happened?"

"Yes, milady," he replied. "Something has happened. I--" Sain cleared his throat, "--ah, we, have failed in your service. Had it not been for the intervention of the lady Dev and Rath, you might not be alive now. You, and your grandfather, have entrusted us with the honor of your protection." He did not look up, could not look up. He did not deserve to look at his liege. "We have not lived up to that honor. Forgive us."

The Lady Lyndis said nothing, and Kent prepared himself to stand and leave, without her forgiveness. She was right-- he did not deserve it. Neither of them did.

His thoughts were interrupted by the creak of leather, an the tap of a boot on dirt. He felt the Lady Lyndis's hand on his shoulder. He looked up, hesitant. Her eyes were full of kindness and sorrow.

"Sir Kent. I cannot accept your apology. You have done nothing wrong. You brought us to Araphen in order to find aid for our journey, did you not? To find aid for my journey. You have been injured numerous times on this journey, yes? That was for my sake, and for my grandfather's. You have done everything you possibly could for us."

"It is a knight's duty to serve, milady. All this and more are nothing but that which I owe to you, since the day I took my oaths."

"Then you fulfill your duty admirably and loyally," Lyndis told him. "Continue by my side, and hold your head up high. Do not doubt your worth again." She turned to Sain, who stood bowed at the waist, his hand on his heart. "Everything I say applies to you as well. You both are honorable, good friends and true. I need you here, by my side." She looked up, past Sain's head, and pressed her lips together, as if trying not to laugh. "I think that just at the moment, though, Wil may need you more."

Kent turned around. The poor archer, having ignored Kent's order to simply get to know the horse, had managed to swing his right leg over Fidele's back and was now trying to drag himself into the saddle, his left leg groping for purchase. Fidele did not seem happy with the arrangement at all, and looked as if he would dump Wil on the ground at any moment. Kent bowed to his liege, and raced off to prevent a disaster. His horse was not the most forgiving of its species.

Once Wil was reasonably comfortably seated on the pommel of Fidele's saddle, and unlikely to fall off, Kent hooked his lance and his scabbard to the straps made for them. Sain appeared beside him as he did.

"She is something else, huh?" his partner asked. Kent glared at him and Sain held up his arms in a peace gesture. "I didn't mean it like that! I just suppose I never expected her to be so..." His voice trailed off, as if he couldn't find the right word.

"Considerate?" Kent volunteered. Sain shrugged.

"Yes, that will do, I suppose. Even Lord Hausen would have given us a proper tongue-lashing if that had happened around him, just for starters. Then we'd have been demoted, punished, publicly dishonored, and all the rest. Her-- She's not even mad." He laughed, a smile growing on his face. "She's actually worried about _us._"

"Yes," Kent replied, pensive and quiet, checking Fidele's girth. He let the strap loosen for a moment. "I'll admit, Sain, when we began this, I had the same opinion as the Marquess Araphen. I thought she would be an uncouth barbarian. But now..."

Sain nodded, his actions subdued for once. "Yeah. I know what you mean, my brave, severe-hearted companion. I'll follow her for the rest of my days, if she permits it." Kent shook his head. Fool. He'd follow anything with long hair and they both knew it.

He let a smile creep onto his face. "As would I, Sain. And not," he added, swinging into the saddle behind Wil, "because she's wearing a skirt, either." He nudged Fidele onward before Sain could object, although his partner's yelling followed him down the road.

"Kent! That was unfair! Hey! Kent!"

...

_Yay! Another chapter done! Next chapter will contain more than one game chapter, I think. I don't know. Anyway, notes upcoming... now!_

_First thing: I've been reading over the earlier chapters recently, and some of the details in them are erroneous or misplaced, according to the revised backstory of the tactician that I slowly made up and changed without really noticing. (This is what happens when you don't plan.) Therefore, I have given them slight revamps, just changing details. The chapters should be up now-- only one and two were changed in any way that's even noticeable. It's hardly groundbreaking. I am also going to spend a day or so figuring out a timeline involving events and ages of characters and such._

_I will also, next chapter, begin to characterize with more attention given to story archetypes. I will have to research them first (I know just enough about them to be interested in doing this, but I want to be really sure.), and match these characters to them. When I have, if anyone is interested, I will give them a list of the characters and which archetypes they fit. If enough people are interested, then I'll go ahead and tell you in these notes, or in my profile or ...somewhere. Ah, I dunno._

_Also. For the next little while, I will also be busy with the Emblem awards (why did I volunteer to judge? Didn't that film festival teach me the perils of volunteering for things?) and so updates will be slightly more infrequent, especially when you factor in the return to school. Oh well. Here we go again. Stupid green jumper. Horrible green _tie.

_Sagewolf out. (Before I embarass myself.)_

_P.S: Thank you to everyone who's read the story so far, and also especially to everyone who's reviewed, fav'ed or alerted it. Hope you're still enjoying it. I am fairly sure that I've replied to everyone's reviews so far, but if I did miss yours out, just say so. I won't do it again!_ _...These A/N are evilly long too, aren't they? Oops. _


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